Grasshopper

SpaceX gave a dramatic demonstration on Friday of why spacecraft undergo such thorough testing. At its testing ground at McGregor, Texas, a SpaceX Falcon 9 Reusable Development Vehicle 1 (F9R Dev 1) exploded in midair during a test flight.

Grasshopper v1.0 has now made its last flight, which lasted 80 seconds and achieved an altitude of 744 meters, more than twice the previous record. Grasshopper v1.1 is well along the road to flight tests.

SpaceX reusable Grasshopper reaches a record altitude over 1000 feet while testing a new sensor system.

The fifth and latest test launch of SpaceX's Grasshopper continues its recent trend of exponential altitude gains, this time reaching a height of 250 meters (820 feet), more than three times the altitude achieved in March.