The Grasshopper rocket that you see in action in the video above is is a 10-story high test rocket that successfully completed its first test flight as part of the Space X project, taking off from a test field in Texas. The rocket can maneuver itself sideways and stay in place in the air 250 meters from ground level, before making a safe return to the launch platform by touching down vertically, too – thanks to its quartet of hydraulic-controlled steel and aluminum landing legs.

While the Grasshopper rocket’s sideslip was just 100m, the successful vertical takeoff and landing test showed the world of its capability to balance and conduct precise movements. Would this be the start of a new class of rockets that do not need to burn-up in the atmosphere upon re-entry?

Via Ubergizmo