Oh, and I should also point out that Armadillo Aerospace originally considered rocket-only recovery. I don't know if they posted any numbers on the necessary fuel reserves; I did look briefly but didn't see anything, and don't remember any specific numbers. May or may not be any published.
They have lately been working on parachute-only recovery, apparently having decided that the mass/complexity penalty of parachutes was better than that of retro-fire fuel. They've lost several vehicles already to minor parachute problems. Parachutes aren't easy.
SpaceX, working at a different scale (though not a different flight regime, at least for the first stage) still thinks retro-rocket landing to be the answer. I imagine an Armadillo-size rocket is less likely to have its various parts crushed at a parachute-speed descent than an F9 stage. Armadillo does occasionally get a STIG back in one piece, and parachute-into-water F9 stages are known to be completely trashed. Dry weight would seem to make a difference here.
They have lately been working on parachute-only recovery, apparently having decided that the mass/complexity penalty of parachutes was better than that of retro-fire fuel. They've lost several vehicles already to minor parachute problems. Parachutes aren't easy.
SpaceX, working at a different scale (though not a different flight regime, at least for the first stage) still thinks retro-rocket landing to be the answer. I imagine an Armadillo-size rocket is less likely to have its various parts crushed at a parachute-speed descent than an F9 stage. Armadillo does occasionally get a STIG back in one piece, and parachute-into-water F9 stages are known to be completely trashed. Dry weight would seem to make a difference here.