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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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The Decision & Control Lab invites you to hear
a talk by
Friday, September 2 at 11 a.m.
SpaceX's reusable rocket program aims to reduce the cost of space travel by making rockets that can land, refuel and refly, instead of being thrown away after every flight. Precise landing of a rocket is a unique problem, which has been likened to balancing a rubber broomstick on your hand in a windstorm. Rockets do not have wings (unlike airplanes) and they cannot rely on a high ballistic coefficient to fly in a straight line (unlike missiles). In the past year, SpaceX has successfully landed five rockets, two of which were on dry land at Cape Canaveral, and three of which were on a floating platform in the Atlantic. This talk will discuss the challenges involved, how these challenges were overcome, and next steps towards rapid reusability.