From: vince@offshore.ai (Vincent Cate)
Newsgroups: sci.space.tech
Subject: Landing a capsule on a huge airbag?
NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.88.68.230

When a stuntman jumps off of a build, he lands on a large airbag.  The
idea of having a reusable capsule land on a huge airbag seems interesting.
If the capsule has some lift, like Apollo, and a parafoil it seems 
we could get a capsule to do a pinpoint landing and even flare at the
end.  This should be gentler on the people and avoid the salt water 
corrosion problem of landing in water.  

You would of course want 2 parafoils, 2 computers, 2 differential GPS units,
etc.  The capsule would be reusable as long as it hit the airbag, and 
have a crumple zone (like a car, Armadillo Aerospace, or Apollo seats) 
in case it missed. It might not be reusable if it missed, but the people 
should survive.  People survive car crashes with less deceleration
protection than a form fitting couch.  


As long as the crumple zone is made of things you needed anyway, it 
should be lighter than landing rockets, landing gear, or a large parachute.


Does a crumple zone seem reasonable?
Is the pinpoint landing the only big problem with this?  
Could it be done reliably?

   - Vince