Re: Missing the point...
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the results to change on their own."
That would be trying to land a freakin' rocket vertically on a floating barge out in the constantly-moving unpredictable ocean, which is obviously an absolutely insane task. Since SpaceX has the proven capability to accurately and dependably return a rocket directly to, but not on, a floating barge, they should instead opt for a non-drifting not-pitching non-rolling landing pad on terra firma. In fact, it's already been done successfully by rival space outfit Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos company.
While watching SpaceX's first barge-landing attempt, I remember thinking, "HOW EFFING STUPID!". When you were a young student ever try to get your pencil to stand up vertically, flat eraser end down, on a flat surface? (I was bored in that class, OK?) FFS, it's extremely difficult because the tall thin pencil is inherently unstable in that orientation. Obviously, a tall thin rocket is similar, even if it has short landing legs to help stabilize it. It makes much more sense to pursue this ocean barge folly by transitioning the returning rocket from a vertical attitude to horizontal prior to touchdown then gently catching it in a huge kevlar or ??? high-temp super-strong, yet flexible, net, suspended above the barge. This technique should improve the odds of a successful non-damaging landing exponentially.
The bottom line is why Elon Musk's team continues to try to defy basic physics is beyond me. Where is the quadruple facepalm icon?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
