Falcon 9 - First stage to be recovered!

On Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:31:47 +0100, Jochem Huhmann
wrote:

But then Falcon 9 is *much* simpler than all of those. Just two stages,
both with the same domes and tanks, differing just in length, the very
same engines in both stages... Looks quite mass-production friendly to
me.

Good point!

I'll go out on a limb here and say SpaceX is never going to recover
the first stage. It seemed to me a ridiculous proposition from Day 1
and the operational experience so far has not caused me to waver in
that estimation at all.

They are saying they will recover the first stage from the sixth launch
on, everything before is more or less R&D. They still have four more
launches to get the first stage down intact.

Good luck to them, I hope I'm proven wrong but I doubt I will be.

Brian