Is spaceX planning on giving up on reusability?

There's a new video that shows Grasshopper hovering, and there's a press release on the front page. From that press release:

So it looks like they are indeed planning to come down in a continuous deceleration, and time it exactly so that they come to a halt just above the pad, then cut the engine and settle down on the legs. That would also explain Elon Musks earlier Twitter comment that this test could have been their first crater: get the thrust level or timing wrong and you're toast, and it comes really really close. Looks like it worked though, even if this was probably a low speed first try at the manoeuvre.

Another thing that I wonder about is that Grasshopper has two flames coming out of it, one out of the main nozzle, and one from a second pipe. You can see that especially well in this video. I wonder if that is some kind of chamber bypass that allows them to throttle deeper than on a normal Merlin. As we discussed above, ordinarily you wouldn't be able to hover an F9 first stage, but in this video Grasshopper does.

First post

The second flame is the output of the turbine exhaust as Merlin engines use a gas-generator power cycle

That gives me an idea - you could use cows on mars to generate rocket fuel!

Its easier to use CO2, Water, electricity and a zirconium catalyst to make the methane directly its less messy tho does has the disadvantage of no Beefsteak as a by product but IIRC Elon was wanting to keep the Martians vegetarian, tho that might have been a misquote

How can you keep eating Martians vegetarian? Oh - you meant that the Martians wouldn't eat meat, not that eating the Martians itself would be vegetarian.

Yep I didn't think Elon was planning cannibalism in his retirement tho Big brother may try it to keep the ratings up if they get off the ground

I wasn't thinking about cannibalism. The martians are those creatures who would have evolved from the bacteria planted by a high school student for a science fair - very cow like, and therefore a great source of rocket fuel.

harryp: Ah right! You just don't notice it so much on the non-hovering version because the flames are much less visible. So it's an ordinary Merlin in that respect. Still wondering how they do it then. Maybe they just added some ballast?

Apparently the grasshopper does carry a lot of ballast in these flights.

Hmm. Well, at some point they're going to have to test it as it will land, without ballast (which will give a very rapid leap into the sky) and with the screech-to-a-halt landing. I see some potential for spectacular Youtube movies yet .

Yeah - this is gonna be fun!

It'll take off like a rocket!

Recent tweet from Musk seem to indicate, no, they are not giving up on re-usability.

This is a landing leg for the F9-R. It's big, very big.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/330 ... 28/photo/1

And here are some blurry pictures of how it's supposed to attach. Looks like the cylinder folds up into the aeroshell/support brace to minimise drag on ascent, with the leg pointing upward, and then on landing the whole thing folds out 135 degrees or so and lands.

I wonder if it's attached to the engine's hydraulic system, or has a separate one? How about extending the legs part way early to increase drag and reduce heating at altitude, similarly to Virgin's feathering system? Obviously F9 will re-enter much faster, but perhaps there's still some benefit?

It looks like it's made out of plastic. Does anyone know what it is made out of?

Tovarich Luorens: It would probably rip off, if it opened up at speed - if it didn't melt. Or are you talking about it slowing the rocket down with the gear closed? Or opening it at "low" speed?