On Mon, 2 Jul 2012 09:12:11 -0400, Jeff Findley
wrote:


What are the pros and cons of the two. From here, apart from the fact that
there is more sea than land, it seems to me that landing in the sea could be
far more problematical from the reuse point of view than a land landing,

This is true. Salt water and aerospace grade structures and electronics
don't mix well.

and also historically its only been used for US landings presumably as it
was convenient when targeting was not that good. Maybe its just that the
need for a wilderness area is too great for other countries to achieve when
land is being considered.

We've done it that way because we've always done it that way.

Because we started out more or less with no choice. The first Mercury
flights were suborbital and there's no suitable land downrange of the
launch site for suborbital hops.

Also, our launch sites are all coastal, and so have easy access to the
sea. Russian and China launch from deep inland.

Brian