blue vein steel - 2015-04-15
The current method involves a bunch of boats and trucks, and all the logistical necessities of moving around big long things over significant distances. With this technology, the rocket can potentially set right back down from where it took off, be maintenance, refueled and set off again within days, not months. These are baby steps, but there is a ton of potential here for significantly reducing the costs of putting stuff into space.

Oscar Wildcat - 2015-04-15
I'm with maggot brain on this one. Why not let the thing land in the ocean? Assuming you can make it float, the autonomous boat just comes along and picks it up. Alternately, put a few screws on the rocket and motor it to shore directly after splashdown. This looks like the worst of both worlds.

Corpus Delectable - 2015-04-15
Hataz gonna...

Anyhoo, the barge business is to comply with / skirt around the FAA while testing continues. Also, it reduces the amount of delta-V needed for the boostback burn. Also also, to return to the launch site, you lob yourself upward and wait for the Earth to rotate under you. This results in a hotter reentry.

Their goal has been to return the things back to the launch complex. They're even building a couple of landing pads in Florida on the Cape.

The payoff for this is enormous, in the long run. The equipment cost to launch a pound of stuff into orbit is like 00-000. The fuel cost is like .

Oscar Wildcat - 2015-04-15
Fair enough, I can see the value of landing the thing on dry land. That seems much more doable than landing on a boat in the water. I can't help but imagine that it would be like jumping off a diving board and landing feet first on a surf board. The slightest imbalance and the board slips from beneath you and you tumble over. It's hard to tell from the clip, but I don't think it even got to that point.

They claim to be trying this several more times, so we shall see. I admire them for trying.

garcet71283 - 2015-04-16
Boat Spaceships.

Worked for Cowboy Bebop, why not give it a shot?

blue vein steel - 2015-04-16
@OC. the whole point of doing this on a barge right now is because this is new, untested tech, and you don't want to test something like this over places where people might be. The ocean is your safety net. In the future, you could do this on land, once the failure rate is below its current 100%. Or, even have an artificial island, that can refuel and reload, out in the gulf of Mexico

Maggot Brain - 2015-04-16
@blue vein steel

Why not just land it in the middle of Canada?

blue vein steel - 2015-04-16
@MB Serious answer: it's far away from the equator
Joke answer: I can't think of a joke, but one is there

Maggot Brain - 2015-04-16
Fuck, Just reminded me of Brazil's horrible/amazing space program.

Oscar Wildcat - 2015-04-15
A Ukranian mathematician friend of mine has a wonderful hand gesture he used to describe such things. He would take his left hand, reach all the way around the back of his head to his right ear, and scratch it.

Sanest Man Alive - 2015-04-15
That's not some wonderful gesture. The man is suffering from earmites, and you stand there chortling and refusing to help, you fool!

Oscar Wildcat - 2015-04-15
Boom Boom Boom
Satellite of Love!
Boom Boom Boom
Satellite of Love...