
SpaceX successfully lands a Falcon 9 rocket at sea for the third time - manu-chroma
http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/27/11787532/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-landing-success-sea-drone-ship
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mabbo
The landing video from the rocket[0] really puts into perspective how much
this truly is 'rocket science'. They placed a boat 600km away in the ocean,
and the rocket moving at 3000+km/h from 80-ish km up landed on it using some
grid fins to steer.

I get how it works, how you can do it, but it's still kind of incredible that
they actually have 3 times in a row.

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jEz03Z8azc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jEz03Z8azc)

Edit: it was 8000km/h at MECO, not 3000km/h.

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nxzero
It is incredible, but makes to wonder how many things are possible that we
don't do.

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yetanotheracc
It makes me wonder how much does the society suck, or what else could be
achieved if more of the humanity's resources were managed the way they are at
SpaceX. If Musk had decided to do fusion energy instead of rockets, would it
be commercially viable by now? How about curing cancer?

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vkou
Curing cancer? Which one?

Let's not assume that nobody else knows what they are doing.

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yetanotheracc
Does not matter which one, does it? Pick any.

They know what they are doing all right. For instance, ITER's managerial staff
surely enjoys the jet-setting between Barcelona and the French Riviera. But
their goals are not aligned with making progress.

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Tharkun
That's a load of cynical and simplistic crock. Yes ITER is super expensive,
and maybe it's not the best use of research money, and maybe it'll never get
anywhere. But the project's aims are very ambitious, and potential payoff is
huge. Saying the ITER management doesn't deserve the same perks as other
management is just wrong.

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codecamper
Amazing that this is becoming a regular-sh occurrence. Have they announced
when they might try re-using one of these rockets? I wonder if the folks
putting their payload on will get some sort of discount. I suppose that is the
long term strategy.. to lower the price. I wonder if that price discount is
already factored into the launch price -- after all they are still sort of a
"start-up"

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grondilu
IIRC they plan on re-using one of the landed first stages at the end of the
year, but they did not give any precise date or mission.

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untilHellbanned
Please somebody justify SpaceX because "Science!" isnt cutting it for me
anymore.

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fmihaila
How about "Money!".

Glibness aside, it's a private enterprise and is profitable, so even without
mentioning Musk's ultimate goal of colonizing Mars, its existence needs no
further justification. It makes money and its shareholders are happy.

And before someone jumps in with the "SpaceX-is-propped-up-by-the-government"
canard, the U.S. government also saves money when it launches military
satellites with SpaceX. According to [1] (among many other sources), SpaceX
quotes around $60m, compared to the United Launch Alliance price of about
$125m (or even, depending on how you count, $200m).

[1] [http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/ula-executive-
admits-...](http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/ula-executive-admits-
company-cannot-compete-with-spacex-on-launch-costs/)

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untilHellbanned
I'm asking why a company who hasn't done anything novel in the realm of
science garners so much attention for its science. The fanboy-ism for SpaceX
seems uneducated. Please tell me how I am wrong.

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ForHackernews
Is HN now the SpaceX PR RSS feed? Are we going to have to see this same
article and talk about how amazing SpaceX is every time they do anything?

I look forward to the breathless comments on "SpaceX successfully lands rocket
for 38th time!"

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FeepingCreature
I'm afraid you'll see an article about SpaceX being awesome every time SpaceX
are being awesome.

Which is and will continue to be often.

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Tharkun
I'm sure we'll get used to this awesome feat eventually. But three good runs
does not a routine make. Hopefully they'll keep it up, and then we can have
manned flight success stories instead!

