The AE Space Systems Design Lab (SSDL) and the GT Decision & Control Lab (DCL) invite you to  hear

"Landing SpaceX's Reusable Rockets"

a talk by

Lars Blackmore

Friday, September 2 at 11 a.m.

SpaceX's reusable rocket program aims to reduce the cost of space travel by making rockets that can land, refuel and refly, instead of being thrown away after every flight. Precise landing of a rocket is a unique problem, which has been likened to balancing a rubber broomstick on your hand in a windstorm. Rockets do not have wings (unlike airplanes) and they cannot rely on a high ballistic coefficient to fly in a straight line (unlike missiles). In the past year, SpaceX has successfully landed five rockets, two of which were on dry land at Cape Canaveral, and three of which were on a floating platform in the Atlantic. This talk will discuss the challenges involved, how these challenges were overcome, and next steps towards rapid reusability.