Grasshopper (rocket)

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Grasshopper v1.0 (2012)
Graphic representation of the then planned overall process from the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket to the landing of the first stage on the Spaceport drone ship

The Grasshopper (to German grasshoppers ) and the Falcon 9 Reusable Development Vehicles (F9R Dev) were experimental missiles for suborbital flights , which by the company SpaceX developed. They were used to test how a rocket stage can be landed again in a controlled manner after take-off. The techniques developed with the help of these experiments were then incorporated into Falcon 9 rockets and refined further. In 2015, with Falcon 9 Flight 20, they enabled the first undamaged landing of a rocket stage ever.

history

The project first became known in 2011. SpaceX soon confirmed plans to build the rocket and perform test flights at the company's own test facility in McGregor , Texas . For a long time it has been the company's stated goal to a. Reduce the cost of space missions by introducing launch vehicles with reusable components.

The results of the test flights were incorporated into the further development of the Falcon 9 , which made a safe landing for the first time on December 22, 2015 (local time December 21) after its 20th take-off . The reusability of the Falcon 9 first stage thus achieved made it possible to reduce the manufacturing costs for individual missile flights.

function

The rocket starts upright and rises to the desired height, with special maneuvers such as lateral drifting can be performed. During the flight the rocket is balanced by internal sensors and an automatic control. Finally the rocket reduces the thrust and returns to the starting point, where it touches down on the landing supports, braked by its own engine. It achieves the accuracy of a helicopter .

Copies

Grashopper missile in a successful 325-meter flight test on June 14, 2013, which resulted in a soft landing.

Grasshopper v1.0

The first version of Grasshopper is 32 m high and essentially consists of a first-stage tank from the Falcon 9 launcher. It is powered by a single Merlin 1D engine and has four fixed landing legs with a shock absorption mechanism . The first flight took place on September 21, 2012 and lasted only 3 seconds. Up to October 2013, a total of eight test flights were carried out up to an altitude of 744 m, with various new technologies being tested. Since March 2014, further tests have been carried out with a new version of the rocket, Grasshopper v1.1 . Altitudes of up to 1000 m were reached. Future flight attempts are also to take place at Spaceport America in New Mexico , from where flights to even greater heights are possible.

F9R Dev 1

The Falcon 9 Reusable development vehicle 1 was based on the tanks of the first stage of the larger Falcon 9 v1.1 and was about 49 m high. Like the Falcon 9, the rocket had nine Merlin engines and was also equipped with an extendable landing gear and two grid fins for control purposes. On August 22, 2014, the missile self-destructed on its fifth flight after deviating from the prescribed course. But no people were harmed. It was a security measure designed to prevent the missile from causing damage outside of the test area. According to Spacex, the cause of the accident was a sensor malfunction.

F9R Dev 2

With the Falcon 9 Reusable development vehicle 2 , further test flights were planned at Spaceport America . However, construction was stopped in February 2015.

History of the landing procedure

Tintin models with a moon rocket

The landing procedure used for the Grasshopper rocket was described long before in science fiction literature, including by the Belgian illustrator Hergé in the comic book Steps on the Moon . The volume, published in 1954, describes the first, fictional landing of the comic heroes Tintin and their friends on the moon, whereby the nuclear missile described in it uses its own thrust for the landing maneuvers just like Grasshopper ("propulsive landing"). SpaceX later based the design of its new Starship spaceship on the Tintin rocket. Vertical landings of a reusable rocket were first practically tested in 1993 with the Delta Clipper from McDonnell Douglas and then followed up by NASA until the project was abandoned in 1996.

In 2010, SpaceX competitor Blue Origin applied for a patent for this method with regard to water landings, which was granted in 2014. However, SpaceX was able to successfully challenge it by referring to previous descriptions of such rocket landings.

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Doug Mohney: SpaceX Plans to Test Reusable Suborbital VTVL Rocket in Texas. Satellite Spotlight, September 26, 2011, accessed January 9, 2014 .
  2. Melody Petersen: SpaceX launches rocket and makes historic landing in Florida . on December 21, 2015 on the Los Angeles Times website ; accessed the same day
  3. ^ Alan Boyle: SpaceX's Grasshopper test rocket flies sideways successfully. NBC News, August 14, 2013, accessed January 9, 2014 .
  4. Musk's Space Talk Wows Crowd at South by Southwest. Moon and Back, March 11, 2013, accessed January 9, 2014 .
  5. Stephen Clark: SpaceX's reusable rocket testbed takes first hop. Spaceflightnow, September 24, 2012, accessed January 9, 2014 .
  6. Grasshopper Completes Half-Mile Flight in Last Test. Spacex, October 16, 2013, accessed January 9, 2014 .
  7. Falcon 9 Reusable Completes Test Flight to 1000 Meters. SpaceRef Business, May 2, 2014, accessed May 4, 2014 .
  8. Spaceport America Welcomes Spacex for Reusable Rocket Testing Program. (No longer available online.) Spaceport America, May 17, 2013, archived from the original on January 9, 2014 ; accessed on January 9, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / spaceportamerica.com
  9. ^ Jeff Foust: Falcon 9 test vehicle destroyed in accident. NewSpace Journal, August 23, 2014, accessed September 17, 2014 .
  10. Stephen Clark: SpaceX blames rocket explosion on bad sensor. Spaceflight Now, August 28, 2014, accessed September 17, 2014 .
  11. Mike Wall: The New BFR: How SpaceX's Giant Rocket-Spaceship Combo for Mars Has Changed. In: space.com. September 21, 2018, accessed on April 5, 2019 : "He also cited the new design's resemblance to the rocket used by the comic-book character Tintin in the 1954 adventure" Explorers on the Moon. " - "I love the Tintin rocket design, so I kind of wanted to bias it towards that," Musk said. "If in doubt, go with Tintin." "
  12. ^ The Delta Clipper Experimental Archive. Retrieved May 8, 2020 .
  13. Todd Bishop: Blue Origin's rocket-landing patent canceled in victory for SpaceX. In: Geekwire. September 1, 2015, accessed May 2, 2019 .