They are! And they work well at both subsonic and supersonic speeds, just not tr... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

toomuchtodo on July 23, 2014 | parent | context | favorite | on: SpaceX Soft Lands Falcon 9 Rocket First Stage

They are! And they work well at both subsonic and supersonic speeds, just not transonic speeds.

anovikov on July 23, 2014 [–]

No, these things are just for improvement of stability when descending.

But it seems that answer is aerodynamic control by partially (and differentially) extending the LEGS. Which appears brilliantly smart and should work. Same hardware, zero additional weight or cost, additional function.

toomuchtodo on July 23, 2014 | [–]

"stability" = "steering"

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact