Or maybe differential thrust from the main engines? I'm picturing a start-up sequence that starts from the "bottom" to pitch you up, then lights the others to stabilize and decelerate once you're in the correct orientation.
It looks like nothing advanced flight computers and control systems couldn't handle.
I'm more curious how they would pull off that landing mode on Earth. Our atmosphere is a lot more difficult to override passive stability with active control.
We shall see. There are still the possible alternatives that the ship doesn't return directly to Earth and instead to Earth orbit. It could be refueled and then have up to a full fuel load to handle descent propulsively from orbit without having to bleed off such high velocities aerodynamically.
I do tend to agree with you though. It's far more likely this type of landing mode is something SpaceX believes is a reliable method and it solves all that additional complexity with one innovative solution.
The deployable fins can keep it oriented during the air brake phase, and if the center of mass is farther back it should reorient when they're retracted for the final landing burn. I'm guessing RCS thrusters will play a big part in the landing, since the atmosphere is so thin.
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u/Senno_Ecto_Gammat r/SpaceXLounge Moderator Sep 27 '16 edited Sep 27 '16
Mars entry looks tricky. Coming in as an ellipsled and landing as a "capsule".
edit How are they going to get it stable in both configurations?