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Once they have achieved sub-meter precision landing, getting rid of embedded legs in favor of external “legs” only makes sense.

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Does it? Genuinely asking. I would expect the precision involved to do this to be a lot higher than when you have actual landing legs, which would provide some bit of “buffer” for hitting the target landing point. A RUD that takes out the first stage is one thing, but a RUD that takes out the first stage and the tower?

a) I think for the landing they will use a different tower from the launch tower. Launch tower has fuel/oxygen lines and in general is not well suited for landing catching role.

b) I would imagine landing tower(s) as lightweght specialized structure that can move relatively fast to catch a rocket within +/- couple meters of ideal landing center.

That's an interesting idea. A landing tower, built to refurb the first stage before wheeling it back over to the launch tower for refueling and then another launch.

It's my understanding that the purpose of landing at the launch tower like this is to reduce refurbishment time rather than to lower weight from the legs - their stated goal is being able to re-launch in under an hour after landing. Having a second landing lower would add similar delay to simply landing at a pad.

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