PORT CANAVERAL, Florida – An artifact of space history arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida this morning when SpaceX’s twice-used Falcon 9 first stage rocket was ferried to the SpaceX dock aboard the autonomous drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). Just before dawn, the SpaceX barge entered the mouth of Port Canaveral under tug by Elsbeth III and Go Quest.
SpaceX successfully landed the refurbished first stage of the Falcon 9 on OCISLY in the Atlantic Ocean about five minutes after launching from Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, March 30, 2017.
The reused first stage rocket was first launched with a Dragon capsule from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 8, 2016 for a resupply mission to the International Space Station. The first stage was then shipped to MacGregor, Texas to undergo refurbishment and testing before returning to Florida for its historic flight.
Photo and video credit: Brevard Times
