SpaceX's Grasshopper Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle stands ready to launch on its 820-foot (250 meters) test flight on April 19, 2013.
SpaceX's Grasshopper 10-story Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle took off on its 820-foot (250 meters) test flight on April 19, 2013.
SpaceX's Grasshopper 10-story Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle reached new heights on April 19, 2013.
SpaceX's Grasshopper vehicle flew 820 feet, tripling its March 7th leap. The rocket is seen here at the moment of landing, still in vertical attitude, with a ring of smoke and dust kicked up by the engines. Test conducted April 19, 2013.
SpaceX's reusable rocket prototype Grasshopper soared 820 feet (250 meters) into the air on April 19, 2013. A tiny "hexacopter" probe, which took footage of the flight, is visible as a black speck slightly above and to the left of the rocket in this picture.
On March 7, 2013, SpaceX’s Grasshopper doubled its highest leap to date to rise 24 stories or 262.8 feet (80.1 meters), hovering for approximately 34 seconds and landing safely using closed loop thrust vector and throttle control.
On March 7, 2013, SpaceX’s Grasshopper doubled its highest leap to date to rise 24 stories or 262.8 feet (80.1 meters), hovering for approximately 34 seconds and landing safely using closed loop thrust vector and throttle control.
On March 7, 2013, SpaceX’s Grasshopper doubled its highest leap to date to rise 24 stories or 262.8 feet (80.1 meters), hovering for approximately 34 seconds and landing safely using closed loop thrust vector and throttle control.
The SpaceX Grasshopper rocket prototype vertically launched and landed in its most impressive test flight to date on Dec. 17.
Grasshopper consists of a Falcon 9 rocket first stage, Merlin 1D engine, four steel landing legs with hydraulic dampers, and a steel support structure. For a sense of its scale, note the blue pick-up truck to the left of Grasshopper in the photo above.
SpaceX's Grasshopper vertical takeoff and landing test vehicle (VTVL) hops nearly two stories (17.7 feet/5.4 meters) during a Nov. 1, 2012 test flight.
The reusable rocket prototype Grasshopper built by private spaceflight company SpaceX makes a 6-foot test flight on Sept. 28, 2012.
A mannequin cowboy dressed in black, nicknamed Johnny, rode SpaceX's Grasshopper reusable rocket during its highest ever test flight on March 7, 2013. The flight in Texas reached a height of 263 feet (80 meters).