SpaceX VTOL rocket "Grasshopper" hops 5.4m

This follows from the first test flight in late-September http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzXlUw2WhcE.

> "Testing of Grasshopper continues, with the next big milestone -- a hover at roughly 100 feet -- expected in the next several months."

This is preparation for the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) rocket SpaceX wants to build https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWFFiubtC3c

And the reason why they're doing this: http://www.space.com/13140-spacex-private-reusable-rocket-el...

> But a fully reusable rocket could change the equation dramatically. Musk illustrated the point by citing SpaceX's Falcon 9, which costs between $50 million to $60 million per launch in its current configuration.

> "But the cost of the fuel and oxygen and so forth is only about $200,000," Musk said."So obviously, if we can reuse the rocket, say, a thousand times, then that would make the capital cost of the rocket for launch only about $50,000."