. 24/7 Space News .
ROCKET SCIENCE
SpaceX landing is a 'feat', but not a game-changer
By Tangi QUEMENER
Paris (AFP) Dec 22, 2015


A day after SpaceX pulled off an upright landing of its powerful Falcon 9 rocket, the head of France's space agency called it a "technological feat" but warned of more work ahead.

CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall told AFP why cost and technology show reusable launchers are not yet a game-changer.

What do you think of SpaceX's successful landing?

"What they did yesterday is clearly a technological feat, everyone is unanimous on that point.

That said, there are two things to keep in mind. The first is that they made just the first step by recovering (the rocket) but not reusing it yet. The launcher worked once, it returned and landed perfectly.

Let's see first if it's possible to use it again and whether a lot of a work will need to be done to make it flight-ready.

We should not forget that reusable launchers already exist, with space shuttles being one example. But when they have to be re-readied for flight the costs have been significant."

What are the benefits over classic rockets?

"The gap is wide between a perfect world where we repeatedly re-use a launcher as-is and the real world in which we have to repair it and (the rocket) only works once or twice.

We are hopeful that considerable gains will be made, but we have not seen them yet. The technological success of last night raises many questions and for the moment we don't have any of the responses."

Do reusable launchers mark a paradigm change?

"SpaceX and Blue Origin, which also successfully recovered a launcher several days ago, have placed a bet on re-use with programmes designed for it from the very beginning.

It is a different path than the one being considered everywhere else. As to whether this will change the paradigm, it is too soon to say.

We'll see if we manage to have the system that (SpaceX CEO) Elon Musk is talking about -- with launchers that come and go and that make another trip shortly after their last flight -- or whether we'll have something that is more delicate.

In any case, it is a technological feat and things can change, but they have not yet."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
ROCKET SCIENCE
Aerojet completes design milestone for AR1 Engine
Sacramento CA (SPX) Dec 22, 2015
Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed a key design milestone for its AR1 rocket engine this week. AR1 is an American-made engine that is being developed as a direct replacement for the Russian-made RD-180 engines that currently power launches of the majority of national security satellites to orbit for the U.S. government. "This is one of the most important design reviews the program will under ... read more


ROCKET SCIENCE
Rare full moon on Christmas Day

LADEE Mission Shows Force of Meteoroid Strikes on Lunar Exosphere

XPRIZE verifies moon express launch contract, kicking off new space race

Gaia's sensors scan a lunar transit

ROCKET SCIENCE
Insight shipped to California for March launch to Mars

Martian gullies likely contain 'no water': study

New Mars rover findings revealed at American Geophysical Union Conference

Opportunity performs a week of robotic arm at Marathon Valley

ROCKET SCIENCE
Researchers Recall Work on First Rendezvous in Space

NASA Accepting Applications for Future Explorers

China drives global patent applications to new high

Australia seeks 'ideas boom' with tax breaks, visa boosts

ROCKET SCIENCE
Agreement with Chinese Space Tech Lab Will Advance Exploration Goals

China launches new communication satellite

China's indigenous SatNav performing well after tests

China launches Yaogan-29 remote sensing satellite

ROCKET SCIENCE
Unscheduled spacewalk likely on Monday

Two whacks is all it takes for spacewalk repair

NASA spacewalk to fix ISS rail car

British astronaut docks with ISS as country cheers debut trip

ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA orders second Boeing Crew Mission to ISS

SpaceX rocket landing opens 'new door' to space travel

ESA and Arianespace ink James Webb Space Telescope launch contract

Moscow Confirms Suspension of Russian-Ukrainian 'Dnepr' Rocket Launches

ROCKET SCIENCE
Nearby star hosts closest alien planet in the 'habitable zone'

ALMA reveals planetary construction sites

Monster planet is 'dancing with the stars'

Exoplanets Water Mystery Solved

ROCKET SCIENCE
Scientists create atomically thin boron

Israel's Amos-5 Satellite Failure Caused by Power Supply Malfunction

Piece by piece NASA is 3-D printing a rocket engine

Turning rice farming waste into useful silica compounds









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.