SpaceX, the private space transportation company, has reached
another milestone in the development of their suborbital
reusable launch vehicle (RLV), the Grasshopper.  Since 2012
SpaceX has been testing the Grasshopper rocket by incrementally
increasing the time and distance that the rocket separates
itself from its launch pad. In its first few tests, Space X was
careful not to let its’ new VTOL rocket venture too far from its
resting place, sending the Grasshopper on small jumps of 6 and
then 17.7 feet.  Based on the success of those early tests, the
Grasshopper team has begun pushing the boundary of what’s
possible with VTOL rockets.  Last month the Grasshopper cleared
the 1,000 ft (325m) altitude milestone.  SpaceX has just
released the stunning video of the rockets accent and decent. In
a video shot aboard a hexacopter hovering some 1,000ft (305m)
above Earth, the drone captured every moment of the
Grasshopper’s latest accomplishment.  Although SpaceX’s RLV is
making progress in its battle against gravity