VTVL Rocket Part Of Larger Reusable Spacecraft Program

On Friday, September 21, SpaceX’s Grasshopper vertical takeoff and landing test vehicle (VTVL) took its first test flight hop from the company’s rocket testing facility in McGregor, Texas.

The short hop of approximately 6 feet is the first major milestone for Grasshopper, and a critical step toward a reusable first stage for SpaceX’s proven Falcon 9 rocket.

Grasshopper consists of a Falcon 9 first stage, a Merlin-1D engine, four steel landing legs, and a steel support structure. SpaceX is working to develop vehicles that are fully and rapidly reusable, a key element to radically reducing cost and increasing the efficiency of spaceflight.

The rocket is designed to be part of a larger spacecraft system that is completely reusable. The system would allow SpaceX to recover the Falcon 9 heavy launch vehicle after a flight with a soft landing on legs rather than falling into the ocean.

Spaceflight Now reports that the test vehicle is 106 feet tall, and that the company built a half-acre test launch pad at its Texas facility. In the video, a short burst from the Grasshopper's engine lifts the test assembly about six feet off the ground before it settles back onto its legs.

Testing of Grasshopper continues, with the next big milestone – a hover at roughly 100 feet -- expected in the next several months.

(Image capture from SpaceX YouTube video.)

FMI: www.spacex.com