SpaceX's Grasshopper VTOL rocket triples its previous best with 840-foot hop (video)
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gZAPke9tgxRu9Ebzt04L6Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTUyNg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/2PzPxxKpec__lYqmj4uD5w--~B/aD0zNDA7dz02MjA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/04/spacex-grasshopper-84-04-23-13-02.jpg)
If it were in Aesop's fable, SpaceX's Grasshopper would probably be the ant instead, as the reusable rocket's team haven't stopped working since the 10-story craft launched back in September. It just tripled its previous altitude mark of 263 feet by soaring to 840 feet, hovering a tick, then gently landing on the exact spot it took off, all while making it look easy. Head after the jump for a video of the whole affair, which was captured rather dramatically by the company's hexacopter.