![]() Assuming a quick and painless stage safing and securing process, the SpaceX fleet could return the Falcon 9 booster to Port Canaveral just hours from now, minimizing exposure to the marine environment and permitting a uniquely speedy recovery from start to finish. Forced to land aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) after a Crew Dragon explosion littered LZ-1 and 2 with debris critical to the failure investigation, B1056 is now just a few dozen kilometers away from Port Canaveral, 10-20x closer than most drone ship recoveries. (SpaceX)Īfter such a gentle reentry, the Block 5 booster should be in exceptionally good shape and may require just a few weeks of actual refurbishment before its effectively ready for a second launch. (SpaceX) Closer… (SpaceX) A few seconds prior to touchdown. B1056 begins its landing burn approximately 30 seconds before touchdown. Note the extra cold LOX tank and extra hot interstage and landing legs. SpaceX included a live infrared view of B1056’s landing. For context, SpaceX’s most extreme Falcon booster recovery yet saw Falcon Heavy center core B1055 separate at almost twice the speed of B1056, traveling nearly 3 km/s (Mach 8.7) at an altitude of almost 100 km (62 mi). Soon after its launch debut, B1056 separated from S2 and Dragon and began its boost back to shore at a downright relaxing ~1.6 km/s (Mach 4.7) and an altitude of 65 km (40 mi). Meanwhile, SpaceX has finally managed to recover one of its Falcon 9 Block 5 boosters after an exceptionally gentle Earth reentry and landing. Once Dragon is safely attached, ISS’s crew of astronauts can begin unloading the several thousand pounds of internal cargo and prepare to withdraw unpressurized payloads (OCO-3 and STP-H6) from the spacecraft’s trunk. NASA will offer live coverage of the spacecraft’s ISS arrival, beginning several hours beforehand and tracking through approach, capture, and berthing. (SpaceX)ĭragon will spend two days in the rendezvous phase, slightly boosting and tweaking its own orbit until its trajectory more or less intersects the Space Station’s. (SpaceX) Cargo Dragon’s solar arrays glow, backlit by orbital sunrise. The CRS-17 spacecraft departed Falcon 9’s upper stage at the crack of orbital dawn and offered a well-lit view of two large payloads in its trunk. The spacecraft then began its own series of on-orbit checkouts, deployed its solar arrays, and armed its 12 Draco maneuvering thrusters. Just a minute or so after B1056 touched down, Falcon 9’s MVac upper stage engine shut down and Cargo Dragon capsule C113 – outfitted with a fresh trunk section – safely separated.
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