'DragonFly' Would Use Retro Rockets And Legs Rather Than A Parachute To Land

A spacecraft designed to make soft landings on Earth, and maybe one day on Mars, is under development by SpaceX. The capsule is a modified Dragon spacecraft that has been code-named "DragonFly."

NBC News reports that the DragonFly Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) would most likely be tested at the SpaceX facility near McGregor Texas, according to a recently-released FAA draft environmental assessment.

The FAA document describes the DragonFly RLV as a "Dragon capsule with an integrated trunk (pictured), which may or may not be attached during a DragonFly operation, and up to four steel landing legs." It would be powered by a combination of nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) and monomethylhydrazine (MMH).

The document says that the program would consist of up to 30 annual operations, and multiple tests could be conducted in a single day.

The only other option available to the FAA is to not issue the experimental permit for the McGregor test site.

The FAA's Environmental Assessment is a draft document and is open to public comment. Comments must be received by the FAA by June 16, 2014.

(Image from FAA Draft EA document)

FMI: Draft EA