I know this is not unprecedented, but this was the first launch/landing I've seen live, and the sensation I got when it landed on the pad is one I've rarely experienced before.
Might be hyperbole to others, but it was like the feeling that a step was made for humanity as a whole, and not just a group of people.
The onboard video camera is a powerful tool, because it allows us to witness firsthand the seeming absurdity of the situation: you're so high up that the Earth's curvature is very pronounced and you can see to the far edges of the state, and yet you flip around, do some microcorrections, but largely fall back down in what we'd commonly perceive to be an uncontrolled descent: and yet you land perfectly on a small structure towed out into a spot in the middle of the ocean.
Sure, we can use analogies to explain how extraordinary this feat is, or visualizations, but seeing the actual video feed, let alone live (just ask sport viewers why they have a stronger emotional response), as the vehicle is shaking, the engine is still firing and nothing in particular seems to suggest that a clean landing will follow -- and yet it does.
This is a great achievement but they've landed these before. But with the landing shown live for the first time from the first stage, the innovation of today is that they've communicated their incredible feat in a tangible way that elicits a strong, visceral emotional response. I wouldn't be surprised if years down the road, this particular footage will be considered mandatory to archive, being significant to human history the same way footage from the moon was.
The employees on the stream mentioned it was one of the first landings where the feed was clear the whole time. It certainly raised my heart rate watching live as the Falcon 9 hit the X on a pinhead.
The only thing that would have made it better would have been some music by James Horner. Seeing that rocket land on a tiny ship in the ocean pretty much on the mark brought a tear to my eye.
Isn't it ironic that anyone who could successfully parse this headline without looking up the individual components, probably already knew the information. Conversely, to anyone not deeply interested in SpaceX, this headline appears to be word salad from a stroke victim.
Actually, I wasn't aware that was the name of the ship and was at first confused, but the proper use of english capitalization rules was my first clue it was a proper noun of some sort. :)
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 41.6 ms ] threadMight be hyperbole to others, but it was like the feeling that a step was made for humanity as a whole, and not just a group of people.
Sure, we can use analogies to explain how extraordinary this feat is, or visualizations, but seeing the actual video feed, let alone live (just ask sport viewers why they have a stronger emotional response), as the vehicle is shaking, the engine is still firing and nothing in particular seems to suggest that a clean landing will follow -- and yet it does.
This is a great achievement but they've landed these before. But with the landing shown live for the first time from the first stage, the innovation of today is that they've communicated their incredible feat in a tangible way that elicits a strong, visceral emotional response. I wouldn't be surprised if years down the road, this particular footage will be considered mandatory to archive, being significant to human history the same way footage from the moon was.
Technical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WimRhydggo