We hear a lot about SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets launching and landing multiple times , but what about the base that makes it possible ?
A central part of the Falcon 9 deputation involve droneships post in the sea . These float barges purpose as a landing weapons platform for the fall first - degree Falcon 9 boosters when the missionary work visibility means the rocket will have to set ashore at ocean rather than back at the launching internet site .
SpaceX has three of these lighter — two in Florida for launching from the Kennedy Space Center , and one in California for flights that lift off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base .
The droneships have rather creative names , too : Of naturally I Still Love You , Just Read The Instructions , and A Shortfall of Gravitas .
In a mission on Thursday that deploy SiriusXM ’s SXM-9 communications orbiter , one of the droneships , Just Read The instruction manual , reached a notable milepost by hosting its 100th successful landing . SpaceX divvy up a video of the booster ’s touchdown , which you may watch below .
Falcon 9 landing confirmed , mark the 100th metre a first stage booster has shoot down on the Just learn the Instructions droneship and our 380th successful recovery overallpic.twitter.com/yyoNjHXZfs
& mdash ; SpaceX ( @SpaceX)December 5 , 2024
The Just Read The Instructions droneship did n’t have the better beginning . It was first deployed on January 17 , 2016 , during the Falcon 9 flight for the Jason-3 mission . Although the booster superintend to shoot down on the droneship , a problem with one of its landing place leg make it to tip over and explode . The droneship was left a mo battered and a tad burn up , but the damage was well make and Just Read The Instructions was able to sail again .
The first successful landing place for the vessel take place in January 2017 and punctuate the first successful booster recovery on a droneship located in the Pacific Ocean .
Just register The Instructions was moved to Florida in December 2019 and since then has been used for delegation launched from the East Coast .
To date , the Of Course I Still Love You droneship has hosted the greatest number of successful landings at 112 , while A Shortfall of Gravitas has host 88 .
After a booster lands on one of SpaceX ’s droneships , it ’s taken back to land where engineers mark it over and refurbish it so that it can fly again . Just this week , we see one of SpaceX ’s Falcon 9 boostersfly for a record twenty-fourth sentence . This method of reprocess a promoter instead of building a new one for every mission allows SpaceX to make its satellite deployment Robert William Service more affordable , and also cuts cost for NASA , which pay SpaceX for crew and loading flight to the International Space Station .
