Actually, that prize goes back as far as DC-X (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X</a>), if not farther. Grasshopper and F9R-dev were evolutionary, in that they were larger than what had been done before, not revolutionary.<p>Landing the F9 stage is not even the first &quot;reusable part of an orbital launch system&quot;, the Space Shuttle was that. It just wasn&#x27;t very effective in terms of lowering the cost, which is where F9&#x27;s true claim of being a game changer is going to be. Let&#x27;s hope that pans out.