Falcon 9 'Grasshopper' vertical takeoff and landing rocket successfully lands The 10-story-tall Grasshopper rocket performed a divert test, flying 250m into the air while performing a 100m lateral maneuver before returning to the center of the pad. Courtesy Spacex channel IT'S an image straight from a 1950s science fiction comic: A rocket that takes off and lands on its tail. It took 60 years, but here it is. The 10-storey high test rocket "Grasshopper" has completed its first test flight as part of the Space X project to find new, cheaper and more effective ways to send stuff into orbit. Correctly termed the Falcon 9 ("Grasshopper" is its nickname) the enormous experimental rocket lifted off from a test field in Texas on Tuesday, manoeuvring itself sideways while hovering 250m in the air. It safely returned to over the launch platform before touching down safely on its four hydraulic-controlled steel and aluminium landing legs. Images in popular comics from the 1950s showed rocket ships that took off and landed vertically. The rocket's sideslip was only 100m, but the successful vertical takeoff and landing test demonstrates the capability to balance and conduct precise movements is viable. The Falcon 9 is hoped to ultimately lead to a new class of rocket that does not burn-up in the atmosphere upon re-entry, as current rockets to. "The test demonstrated the vehicle's ability to perform more aggressive steering manoeuvres than have been attempted in previous flights," SpaceX said. Diverts like this are an important part of the trajectory in order to land the rocket precisely back at the launch site after re-entering from space at hypersonic velocity. The Falcon 9 "Grasshopper" hovers above the test site in Texas. Picture: Space X Source: Supplied The "Grasshopper" uses many of the same rocket parts SpaceX employs for current satellite launches and cargo trips to the International Space Station. The test marked the seventh flight of the Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing vehicle since it was unveiled in 2011. In June, the Falcon 9 rose to a height of 300m before returning straight back down to its launch pad. The "Grasshopper's" landing legs.