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→Maintenance + unmanned: cmt: I think both are true, and both are stated in the article. But if should be clearer, have at it... |
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:::If you're talking about Earth-bound missions, I believe that SpaceX intends to make all three components reusable: the first stage and second stage boosters, and the Dragon capsule, all landing vertically on their own rocket thrust. In the case of the Dragon, the landing rockets are also planned to serve as the attitude thrusters and launch escape mechanism. I can't find a reference for this at the moment, but they released a video last year (with a backing track by Muse, IIRC) showing an animation of how the whole process is intended to work. We really need to have this covered in more detail in the article. Mars I don't know about. -- [[User:The Anome|The Anome]] ([[User talk:The Anome|talk]]) 14:36, 23 December 2015 (UTC)
::::::You are correct, in the long term, but not for the nearer term, with the Falcon 9/Falcon Heavy. Both are addressed in the article prose, but perhaps could be made more clear.
::::::#In the lede it says "The project's '''long-term''' objectives include returning a launch vehicle first stage to the launch site in minutes and to return a second stage to the launch pad following orbital realignment with the launch site and atmospheric reentry in up to 24 hours. SpaceX '''long term''' goal is that both stages of their orbital launch vehicle will be designed to allow reuse a few hours after return.[1]". (emphasis added)
::::::#In the History section, it says: "By late 2014, SpaceX suspended or abandoned the plan to recover and reuse the Falcon 9 second stage;[33] the additional mass of the required heat shield, landing gear, and low-powered landing engines would incur too great a performance penalty."
::::::So, using all extant sources we have, SpaceX is still aiming for this, but in their [[MCT launch vehicle]] and in the [[Mars Colonial Transporter]]; ''not'' with the [[Falcon 9]] nor [[Falcon Heavy]]. (however, with the new USAF contract to SpaceX earlier this month for SpaceX to develop an "upper stage" Raptor-like methane-fueled full-flow-staged-combustion '''prototype''' engine for the F9 and FH (see the article lede of [[Raptor (rocket engine)]] for a source), there is some speculation that a newer/newish second stage design for F9/FH ''might'' be able to be reusable, like Musk originally wanted, rather than like SpaceX decided to drop development resources from in late 2014, as shown in the quotation above. SpaceX, however, has neither confirmed nor denied any interest in even making a stage that would ever fly with the new USAF-1/3-paid-for prototype engine, nor publically said anything about making such a hypothetical stage reusable, ''contra'' the earlier late 2014 plans. YMMV.) Cheers. [[User:N2e|N2e]] ([[User talk:N2e|talk]]) 23:36, 19 January 2016 (UTC)
::::Thanks for the great info, {{U|The Anome}}. I wonder can that video be used as an acceptable RS, if it can be found? Also, do you by any chance know whether they say anything anywhere about returning to the Moon (or is it all just about Mars, with its far greater and possibly insuperable problems for the human body)?
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