In article om,
says...

On 28/09/2011 11:12 PM, Jeff Findley wrote:
In gpond.com,
says...

That's a bloody big lander they're developing!

thinking I wonder what Musk has in mind.....thinking

We all know he wants to reuse his launch vehicles. It's quite possible
that he's using this as a testbed to gather data on the feasibility of
recovering Falcon 9 first stages. Even easier ought to be Falcon Heavy
boosters, which are similar but expend their fuel/oxidizer earlier due
to cross-feeding of propellants to the core.

I don't think this is about a booster recovery system. I think it's
more 'planetary' than Earth-based.

Possibly, but the technology could also be applied to landing Dragon
under rocket power, which I'd consider "Earth-based". Splashing down in
the ocean isn't such a great idea for a capsule you want to reuse.
Dunking aluminum and electronics in salt water isn't a good thing. For
disposable capsules, this really doesn't matter, except to museum
curators who are interested in preserving history.

Jeff
--
" Ares 1 is a prime example of the fact that NASA just can't get it
up anymore... and when they can, it doesn't stay up long. "
- tinker