Sometimes I think I'm smart because I can (mostly) get Webpack to work the way I want.<p>Then I watch a SpaceX livestream and realize, eh, not so much. ;)
It's already become routine, soon people will expect rockets to be reusable. If they keep up the launches every two weeks and begin even accelerating the pace of launches I do not see how any rocket company will be able to compete for business.
Wow. Does anyone know what sort of control they have during the final burn? Do they modulate it in closed loop to track the landing profile or is the control via some other actuators? It just blows your mind that you can get this sort of accuracy with these speeds/distance/time. I also wonder how they get real-time accurate positioning. GPS?
Can someone explain why the "Stage 1 speed" at the top right on the technical broadcast stream jumps from 6,000 km/h to 24,000 km/h right after the separation?<p><a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=PFoOqqSIYpw" rel="nofollow">https://youtube.com/watch?v=PFoOqqSIYpw</a> around 22:28 mark<p>In fact, the speed settles at 18,000 km/h after the landing.
You can watch the recorded live stream landing at <a href="https://youtu.be/PFoOqqSIYpw?t=37m19s" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/PFoOqqSIYpw?t=37m19s</a>
Does it start firing the rockets on descent not so much to slow down but as a shield for reentry? I don't know if that makes sense. Maybe the rocket isn't high enough to burn up on re-entry? I'm not sure it's not exactly coated in heat-resistant ("cliche-black-colored") tiles.<p>To me maybe when you fire a plume of exhaust like that it forms a shield around the rocket... not sure.