In just a few years, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has gone from testing a reusable rocket
design, dubbed Grasshopper, to installing key vertical takeoff, vertical landing
(VTVL) functionality in the Falcon 9 rockets used for official missions like cargo
runs to the International Space Station. In July, the private space firm managed to
guide the Falcon 9’s first stage to a “soft” ocean landing after the launch of six
Orbcomm OG2 satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The key to making its VTVL
launch vehicle reusable is to accomplish a guided set-down on land, and though
SpaceX has set a pretty ambitious timeline for making that happen as part of an
official mission, we think it may not be a reality for a few more years yet.
