Reflown SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster arrives at sunrise atop OCISLY droneship being towed into the mouth of Port Canaveral, FL on Oct. 15, 2017 after successfully launch SES-11 UHDTV comsat to orbit on Oct. 11. Credit: Ken Kremer/Kenkremer.com
PORT CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - The now twice flown SpaceX first stage booster that successfully delivered the SES-11 UHDTV satellite to orbit at sunset Wednesday, Oct 11, sailed proudly back home into Port Canaveral at sunrise Sunday, Oct. 15 only three days after it safely landed on a tiny droneship at sea.
The 156 foot Falcon 9 booster accomplished a precision guided rocket assisted touchdown on the football field sized OCISLY droneship platform about 8 minutes after the dinnertime liftoff on Oct. 11 at 6:53 p.m. EDT from seaside Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The 15 story tall first stage came to rest slightly tilted a few degrees, similar to at least two prior boosters that landed on OCISLY while prepositioned several hundred miles off shore of the Florida peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean.
The recycled booster was towed into Port Canaveral by a SpaceX contracted tugboat accompanied by a small fleet of pilot ships and support vessels.
The doubly used and doubly successful booster entered the mouth of Port Canaveral around 7:15 a.m. EDT Sunday under dawns twilight I witnessed together with a few media colleagues and a small crowd of onlookers and little fanfare.
Reflown SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster arrives at sunrise atop OCISLY droneship being towed into the mouth of Port Canaveral, FL on Oct. 15, 2017 after successfully launch SES-11 UHDTV comsat to orbit on Oct. 11, 2017. Credit: Ken Kremer/Kenkremer.com
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