Were the fuzzy dice still hanging?
I'm not an aeronautical engineer or a rocket scientist, but from my layman's perspective, it would have been more worrisome if it had exhibited instability in flight, even if the gear deployed properly and it made a successful landing.
Here is the first X-15 unpowered drop test in 1959, with Scott Crossfield at the controls. Note the pitch oscillation just before landing.
So all things considered, I'd say the Dream Chaser test was mostly successful.
I've just seen the video released today. Wonderful to see that everything was hugely successful and that there were no problems except for a tiny anomaly that was so itsy bitsy that it wasn't even worth showing on the video. Good of them not to insult us with any images of trouble. I'm off to watch "M2F2 Crash" on YouTube now, and to ponder the meaning of the following fact. Russian showed the entire Proton crash this summer, live. Remember when the USSR hid its failures while NASA showed its problems in full detail? (For those wondering who is leading in space today - that (showing it all) was leadership.) - Ed Kyle
We didn't get video of the SpaceX first stage falling apart when it hit the water either. This isn't NASA. They get to decide what video they want to release.
Quote from: Lurker Steve on 10/29/2013 11:29 pmWe didn't get video of the SpaceX first stage falling apart when it hit the water either. This isn't NASA. They get to decide what video they want to release.This aspect makes me less supportive of the "commercial crew" program in general. Personally, I think they'd generate more good will by just being open, and also avoid overly pessimistic rumors and speculation when in fact the actual situation might be much more positive than censoring things would imply. We don't get to see the cool stuff that goes on at places like Groom Lake, and our inept government has left our space program an empty shell of its former self, so I think some of us are just frustrated and starved for some actual progress that involves seeing some hardware in flight!
Of course, all of us genuine enthusiasts want to see the full video, or better yet, live coverage; but unfortunately, the companies have to worry about hostile members of Congress and a generally ignorant and sensation-seeking news media.