Buck Rodgers here we come.

[steve_bnk]

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27166780


'...SpaceX says its recent experimentto return part of its Falcon-9 rocket back to Earth under control wasa success.


The US company has confirmed that thefirst-stage of the vehicle launched from Cape Canaveral a week agoused its engines to slow its fall, deployed a set of legs and made a"soft landing".


For safety reasons, the touchdown wasactually commanded to take place east of the Cape, far out at sea.

Nonetheless, the stage was vertical andhad zero velocity on contact...'

 

[Musing Man]

zero velocity on contact...'

Dandelions!

 

[Valjean]

Wouldn't a parachute and small final braking jet be lighter and mechanically simpler?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Wouldn't a parachute and small final braking jet be lighter and mechanically simpler?

That's an awfully big chute. Furthermore, if it's at all windy a chute will tip it over.

And the jet would not exactly be small. It's landing over 20 tons worth of rocket. And note the rocket isn't moving at touchdown, the engine has to suck in all the air it needs, there's nothing driving air into it like a normal jet.