SpaceX unveil 'no runway' Dragon V2 space capsule (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

SpaceX has unveiled a re-useable spacecraft which it says will be able to take-off and land anywhere on Earth, "like a helicopter".

The seven-seater Dragon V2 is equipped with side-mounted thrusters and legs to allow it to land vertically, without the need for a runway.

Since NASA retired its space shuttle fleet three years ago, the American space agency has been dependent on Russian spacecraft to fly its astronauts into orbit.

The Californian-based company is competing with several others to win NASA contracts.
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aka a VTOL craft

[Wounded Bear]

1. Interesting...

but I wonder how it can contain sufficient fuel for landing in that size vehicle.

[phantom power]

2. it sheds most of its velocity on re-entry

The amount of fuel it would need for the final landing is not so large.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. I looked up what the speed of Apollo was before they deployed the drogue parachute

and, though NASA doesn't seem to be specific, calculations show it was probably under 250 mph - I was surprised it was that low (I thought it would be dropping like a rock). So I guess it doesn't take that much fuel after all - though their "can land as precisely as a helicopter" must mean they start some rockets well before for steering, rather than just simple slowing down.

[phantom power]

7. It's amazing. 10 kilometers per *second* down to moderate airplane speed, in minutes.

Dumping it all into white heat. I would soil myself.

[caraher]

3. It's basically replacing the parachute

So a rough estimate is that the fuel energy required is comparable to the energy a parachute dissipates during descent.

BTW, it still retains a parachute as a backup. It does a check when it's time to fire the engines and deploys a parachute if there's an indication that the rockets might not work.

[sailfla]

4. Flash Gordon has been doing that for decades

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Truly, there is nothing new under the Sun. nt