rocket landing off of Hawaii

[TomK]

Sorry if I wasn't clear. The rocket was supposed to flip 180, separate, then the booster would go do "it's thing" for touchdown. I didn't mean the booster was going to stop and reverse it's already well established velocity. Inertia's a bitch.

If SpaceX has outlined their plans, I haven't read them. I'm just reading into what I saw and my rudimentary understanding of physics. I'd guess the booster was supposed to get clear, then slow itself down using the main engines so it'd descend back into atmosphere on a lower trajectory, then use the last of it's fuel to allow it to touchdown in a controlled fashion.

Yes, that's closer to what was planned but I don't think the 180-degree flip before separation was ever planned. Normally, the first stage stops when it runs out of fuel and the second stage then detaches leaving the first stage behind. The first stage will maneuver after this separation and start falling back toward earth and fire its engines again at some point to slow it down. It then shuts them off and free-falls back down to the Earth's surface, allowing the thickening atmosphere to slow it down. It's only when it's close to hitting the ground it will fire its rockets again to slow it down so much that it can land softly.

I suggest watching the following video to follow what I'm saying - it's a SpaceX launch with booster (1st stage) recovery.

https://www.youtube.com/live/iS9cT0vz3ng?feature=share&t=546