Elizabeth Leigh
Space Exploration Technologies Inc. has completed the latest test flight for its Grasshopper autonomous vertical-takeoff and landing rocket.
The Grasshopper flew 263 feet, hovered for 34 seconds and landed using a closed-loop guidance system, Wired.com reported Monday.
Jason Par writes that the latest of Space X“™s four test flights exceeded the recorded altitudes of previous demonstrations and had “the most accurate landing to date.“
The test vehicle uses components from the first-stage tank from a Falcon 9 and Merline 1D rocket engine, the same kind that propelled SpaceX“™s Dragon spacecraft onto the International Space Station on March 1.
