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Rocket recycling: watch SpaceX's Falcon 9 fly back to Earth
Back in mid-July, one of SpaceX's two-stage Falcon 9 rockets blasted off from Cape Canaveral to deposit a series of 6 Orbcomm satellites in low earth orbit. In case you're not terribly familiar with how these things work, it's the rocket's first stage (and its 9 Merlin 1C engines) that does most of the heavy lifting, and SpaceX hopes that these expensive boosters can be recovered and reused. We caught a glimpse of that particular Falcon 9's first stage splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean thanks to a camera mounted on the rocket itself, but SpaceX posted a video today that gives us a look at the events from a different angle -- specifically, from a chase plane coming along for the ride. Sadly, the plane lost sight of the first stage just as it tipped over and fell into the water, but the rest of rocket's journey was well documented. Hitting the water compromised the booster's hull, though the data collected gave SpaceX confidence that it'll ultimately be able to land one of these things safely on dry land.
DARPA's XS-1 program aims for an unmanned spaceship with aircraft-like costs
The reusable spacecraft we've seen so far haven't really lived up to their billing: vehicles like the Space Shuttle or SpaceShipTwo require elaborate, expensive launches. If DARPA succeeds with its just-announced XS-1 program, however, spaceflight could be an affordable, everyday occurrence. The agency plans to develop an unmanned spacecraft that requires a minimal ground crew, reaches speeds above Mach 10 and flies at least 10 times in as many days. Provided DARPA meets its goals, XS-1 would both speed up the deployment of small satellites and lower the cost per flight to an "aircraft-like" $5 million or less. Don't count on seeing a ship in action anytime soon, though. DARPA will only receive some of the first design proposals on October 7th, and someone still has to build the winning project -- it will likely be years before XS-1 slips the surly bonds of Earth.
SpaceX's Grasshopper VTOL rocket triples its previous best with 840-foot hop (video)
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.
Watch SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket hover, from its own point of view (video)
Ever wonder what it would be like to hover 131 feet above the ground through rocket power? You could come close with a jetpack, or you could watch a new SpaceX video that shows the Grasshopper reusable rocket's own perspective. The new angle on a December test flight emphasizes just how quick and precise the hover routine has become: it takes little time for the Grasshopper to stop at its intended altitude, and the rocket doesn't bob or sway to any significant degree. We'd most like to see the rocket reach its full two-mile potential, but we'll gladly be distracted by the recent footage found after the break.
USAF relaunches its first X-37B on a slightly less mysterious spaceflight
The US Air Force's aims with each X-37B mission continue to be shrouded in secrecy, but we're learning a little more now that it has launched the autonomous space plane for a third time. In once more flying the OTV-1, the original vehicle that reached orbit in 2010, the military branch is clear that testing reusability is a major goal: it wants to know if these spacecraft can take more than one trip without suffering ill effects. We likewise know that navigation, re-entry and other basics will be under scrutiny, even if the military won't talk about the payload. Just when we'll see OTV-1 back on Earth is another matter. The USAF is still standing by its official line that the X-37B is built to stay spaceborne for nine months, but it's remaining open to longer missions if conditions permit. Given that OTV-2 took more than a year to return, we wouldn't be surprised if we're just becoming comfortable with 2014 by the time the vehicle's sibling touches down.
X-37B finally touches down, completing its not-so-secret classified mission (video)
After more than a year of circling the globe, the US Air Force's X-37B has finally touched down at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The unmanned, reusable space plane spent 469 days in orbit, performing a number of experiments (many of which are classified) before finally ending its lengthy run Saturday. What exactly the military has learned from the extended orbital excursion is unclear, but, like the Mars rovers before it, the X-37B turned out to be far more robust than many had anticipated. Its mission was originally intended to last just nine months, but its operators managed to milk about six more months out of the craft. While we wait to find out what the next step is, enjoy the video of it landing after the break.
Happy Biiiirthday Mr. USAF X-37B Robot Space Plane
The X-37B was only meant to stay up in space for a gestational nine months, but a full year has now passed since launch and the US Air Force apparently has little interest in bringing its baby home. On the contrary: according to Space.com, the plan is to send up another unmanned space plane to keep the X-37B company on its [CLASSIFIED] missions. Whatever it's getting up to in that airless playground, it must be doing something right. Air Force Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre says the craft is "setting the standard for a reusable space plane and, on this one-year orbital milestone, has returned great value on the experimental investment." Which is a fine way of saying [STILL CLASSIFIED].
PrePeat rewritable printer lets you undo print jobs, no ink or toner used
Inkless / tonerless printers aren't exactly new, but here's a more novel approach: inkless, tonerless, and completely reusable. The PrePeat rewritable printer is exactly that: using special paper made of PET plastic, you can make all the flowcharts and meeting notes you need, and when you want to start fresh, feed the paper back in to start fresh. Upfront cost is 500,000 yen (about $5,600 in US) for the printer and 300 yen for each sheet, in lots of 1,000 -- which we're taking to mean at least another 300,000 yen / $3,360 to get some use out of it. Each piece of paper is said to work about 1,000 times, but no word on how much (if any) history can be extracted from the materials -- just keep that in mind should sensitive information be your daily trade. Video demonstration after the break.
