They need to be able to stabilize the rocket's landing in all sorts of conditions if they want to have any hope of landing it on another planet. It's not like interplanetary launches will be able to schedule launches to choose optimal weather conditions for the landing. Maybe, if they're lucky, they'll be able to orbit briefly to avoid bad weather at the landing site, but moderate winds and wind gusts are going to be a problem. If it's impossible to reliably land under those conditions, the whole idea is flawed for the purposes of interplanetary flight. You can't have rockets going to Mars, and only have 50% or 75% surviving for relaunch. That's not the kind of cost reduction that will make interplanetary travel and resupply feasible.
It would obviously help with LEO launch costs, though, or any return landings on Earth. Even if rocket stages are only recovered some of the time, and not reliably, that's a significant cost savings and well worth doing. It's just that Musk is so intent on interplanetary travel driving all this technology. If it's only for cost savings for Earth landings, a parachute system or a specially designed (more accommodating) landing complex/barge could work too, right?
> (paraphrasing multiple comments) "but this is to re-land rocket stages on Earth"
Here's an interview where he specifically talks about his long term goal of landing rocket stages on other planets. He says parachutes negatively affect reusability, I'm not sure how much of that is potential damage or off-site landing and how much is the necessity to reinstall a parachute for the next launch. The point here is that he is clearly not thinking only of Earth landings in developing this technology. I think some sort of assisted landing or more developed landing site could increase chance of recovery and reusability for Earth landings, decreasing total launch costs for Earth orbit missions, at the cost of not being applicable to landings on other planets.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOpmaLY9XdI?t=11m30s
It would obviously help with LEO launch costs, though, or any return landings on Earth. Even if rocket stages are only recovered some of the time, and not reliably, that's a significant cost savings and well worth doing. It's just that Musk is so intent on interplanetary travel driving all this technology. If it's only for cost savings for Earth landings, a parachute system or a specially designed (more accommodating) landing complex/barge could work too, right?
> (paraphrasing multiple comments) "but this is to re-land rocket stages on Earth"
Here's an interview where he specifically talks about his long term goal of landing rocket stages on other planets. He says parachutes negatively affect reusability, I'm not sure how much of that is potential damage or off-site landing and how much is the necessity to reinstall a parachute for the next launch. The point here is that he is clearly not thinking only of Earth landings in developing this technology. I think some sort of assisted landing or more developed landing site could increase chance of recovery and reusability for Earth landings, decreasing total launch costs for Earth orbit missions, at the cost of not being applicable to landings on other planets.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOpmaLY9XdI?t=11m30s