On Monday, October 7th, Grasshopper completed its highest leap to date, rising to 744m altitude. The view above is taken from a single camera hexacopter, getting closer to the stage than in any previous flight. Grasshopper is a 10-story Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle designed to test the technologies needed to return a rocket back to Earth intact. While most rockets are designed to burn up on atmosphere reentry, SpaceX rockets are being designed not only to withstand reentry, but also to return to the launch pad for a vertical landing. The Grasshopper VTVL vehicle represents a critical step towards this goal. Grasshopper consists of a Falcon 9 rocket first stage tank, Merlin 1D engine, four steel and aluminum landing legs with hydraulic dampers, and a steel support structure.
I was wondering about that also. If you look closer at the landing you can see he seems to have moved about in relation to the landing pad so I wonder if he was trying for a different perspective. Did you notice when he looked up you could tell it's a DJI S800 hexacopter...naturally!
Actually, I had totally missed seeing the motor and prop the first time I watched the video. I must have really been keyed in on what the rocket was doing.
As soon as I saw the bottom of the motor pod and arm with the ESC light I knew it was a S800. I was thinking that that's what it would be anyway. That is my favorite multirotor. Equip that bad boy with a DJI A2 flight controller and off into the wild blue yonder.
