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Recent posts

Trump had to be stopped from using nuclear weapons on Iran RL April 21, 2026 7:57 pm (CurrentEvents)

New Glenn 3 flight profile BuckGalaxy April 18, 2026 12:08 am (Space/Science)

NASA's Moon Base User’s Guide BuckGalaxy April 16, 2026 3:10 pm (Space/Science)

Meanwhile, bye bye National Forest Service podrock April 9, 2026 8:13 am (CurrentEvents)

Is Isreal really a US ally RobVG April 8, 2026 5:21 pm (CurrentEvents)

Eventually, one has to just admit it. podrock April 6, 2026 8:08 pm (CurrentEvents)

Where no one has gone before BuckGalaxy April 6, 2026 7:49 pm (Space/Science)

Moon noticeably getting larger in live stream RL April 6, 2026 4:23 am (Space/Science)

Regime Change BuckGalaxy April 4, 2026 4:22 pm (CurrentEvents)

HERE WE GO, BABY! BuckGalaxy April 1, 2026 3:07 pm (Space/Science)

April Fool's Day ER April 1, 2026 7:56 am (Space/Science)

A Big Beautiful Bunker podrock March 31, 2026 10:11 am (CurrentEvents)

Reusable Falcon 9 first stage? September 23, 2011 7:00 pm TB

Some interesting stuff in this FAA permit application.

The Grasshopper RLV consists of a Falcon 9 Stage 1 tank, a Merlin-1D engine, four steel landing legs, and a steel support structure. Carbon overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), which are filled with either nitrogen or helium, are attached to the support structure. The Merlin-1D engine has a maximum thrust of 122,000 pounds. The overall height of the Grasshopper RLV is 106 feet, and the tank height is 85 feet.

The propellants used in the Grasshopper RLV include a highly refined kerosene fuel, called RP-1, and liquid oxygen (LOX) as the oxidizer. The Grasshopper RLV has a maximum operational propellant load of approximately 6,900 gallons; however, the propellant loads for any one test would often be lower than the maximum propellant load. Even when the maximum propellant load is used, the majority of the propellant would remain unburned and would serve as ballast to keep the thrust-to-weight ratio low.

Back in the day, Phil Bono had designs for recoverable Saturn V upper stages that would land vertically on the ground.

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