Rick Jones wrote in
:

So, while our gaze is skyward after the Falcon 1 Flight 4 launch, a
more down to earth question - what was the fate of the first stage of
flight four? Did it have 'chutes etc? Was there an attempt at
recovery?

The limited (almost non-existant) details of how SpaceX plans to
recover and reuse flight hardware doesn't help; a parachute and some
thermal protection material is one thing, but exposing a lot of
sensitive machinery (and especially the internals of a rocket engine)
to salt water implies a degree of 'hardening' and maybe limits
what can be usefully--read: reliably--reused.

I get the impression this is not the highest priority, nor is it
trivial if the effort can significantly cut costs.

We'll just have to wait for the details to emerge. Or submerge.

--Damon