In the latest landing video, it seems the Falcon 9 just hovered for a moment above the ship. That being said, it begs the question, how does the booster know where the ground is? Does it purely work off of GPS, a 1 way radar/beacon type system from the landing zone, radar from the rocket, or some means that I'm not aware of?
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asked Jun 17, 2016 at 15:45
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1$\begingroup$ Curb feelers? :-) $\endgroup$– Dan PichelmanJun 17, 2016 at 15:47
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1$\begingroup$ @PearsonArtPhoto That's why I added the smiley. I suspect the actual solution probably works from even higher than 10m. A radar altimeter might be a possibility, but that's just an uninformed guess. $\endgroup$– Dan PichelmanJun 17, 2016 at 16:22
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2$\begingroup$ Less so in height.. $\endgroup$– PearsonArtPhoto ♦Jun 18, 2016 at 1:36
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2$\begingroup$ "That’s it! That’s a good name – ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?" $\endgroup$– Keith ThompsonJun 18, 2016 at 19:12
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2$\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? How does the Falcon 9 know where the landing barge/pad is? $\endgroup$– ChristophAug 26, 2020 at 9:50
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1 Answer
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When commenting on one of the early water landings, Elon Musk mentioned there's a radar altimeter (which was calibrated for flat, hard surfaces and might have trouble detecting the water surface as a result).
Can't find a primary source for this, though.
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$\begingroup$ As of your own answer on basically the same question the source is the post launch interview of Elon Musk from the Falcon Heavy launch. $\endgroup$ Aug 26, 2020 at 9:52