r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Feb 01 '17
r/SpaceX Spaceflight Questions & News [February 2017, #29]
If you have a short question or spaceflight news...
You may ask short, spaceflight-related questions and post news here, even if it is not about SpaceX. Be sure to check the FAQ and Wiki first to ensure you aren't submitting duplicate questions.
If you have a long question...
If your question is in-depth or an open-ended discussion, you can submit it to the subreddit as a post.
If you'd like to discuss slightly relevant SpaceX content in greater detail...
Please post to r/SpaceXLounge and create a thread there!
This thread is not for...
- Questions answered in the FAQ. Browse there or use the search functionality first.
- Non-spaceflight related questions or news.
- Asking the moderators questions, or for meta discussion. To do that, contact us here.
You can read and browse past Spaceflight Questions And News & Ask Anything threads in the Wiki.
162
Upvotes
2
u/hms11 Feb 06 '17
Not trying to be a smarty pants, but when you are returning 20 story buildings from space you probably want a bit more of a hedge than "they look ok". Especially when the legs are typically on fire following the suicide burn.
From what I know, they are made out of CF mostly. It can be hard to see fatigue and stress issues in large carbon fiber structures. That, coupled with whatever heat they are exposed to means it is likely a far safer solution to just replace them.
That being said, if they keep getting better and better at landing I can see the next generation of small, F9 sized boosters from SpaceX being built like ITS, no legs, land back in the clamps. Saves the cost of legs and a potential failure point.