PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – The SpaceX rocket booster used to launch NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on their mission to the International Space Station, making history by being the first private rocket to do so, headed back into Port Canaveral Tuesday.
The rocket hardware and its ride began gliding into the Port just after 2 p.m. Sky 6 was there as the tug boat and droneship made its way into the jetty.
Behnken and Hurley successfully arrived at the ISS Sunday. The SpaceX launch marked the first time a private company has launched humans to orbit and the first time Americans have launched from U.S. soil since 2011.
Hurley said he and Behnken both felt the difference when the Falcon 9 first and second stage separated during launch. The first stage is what returned to Port Canaveral Tuesday.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020. (Photographer: Greg Scott)The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020. (Photographer: Greg Scott)The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020. (Image: SpaceX)The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020. (Image: SpaceX)The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020. (Image: Jeff Segers/WKMG)SpaceX Falcon 9 booster arrives at Port Canaveral after Demo-2 launchThe SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020. (Image: SpaceX)The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020. (Image: WKMG)The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020. (Photographer: Greg Scott)
Hurley said both astronauts knew they hit Mach 1 by feeling alone.
“We didn’t even need to look at the speed, you could tell just by how the rocket felt,” Hurley said.
It takes about four days for the booster to make its way back to the Space Coast, where it docks at Port Canaveral, passing cruise ships and restaurants along the way. SpaceX then uses a giant crane to lift the rocket off the ship and take it back for refurbishment. The company launches, lands and re-launches its boosters to drive down the cost of spaceflight. So far, SpaceX has re-used a booster as many as five times.
It’s unclear when or if SpaceX plans to re-fly this particular booster. The booster is special for its historic flight and even has the throwback NASA worm logo on the side.
SpaceX erected the first booster it ever landed at its headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk celebrates inside the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building after his company successfully launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk celebrates inside the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building after his company successfully launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)NASA astronauts blast off into space on a SpaceX rocket, heralding a new era in human spaceflight.A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A carrying two astronauts into orbit. (Image: Greg Scott)SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A carrying two astronauts into orbit. (Image: Greg Scott)SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A carrying two astronauts into orbit. (Image: Greg Scott)
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk celebrates inside the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building after his company successfully launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to orbit on May 30, 2020. (Image: Greg Scott)
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