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SpaceX
Falcon 9 first stage booster sails back into Port Canaveral, FL on Nov. 19,
2018 towed to dockside berthing port by SpaceX Naval fleet atop the ocean going
OCISLY droneship platform upon which it landed – after launching Es’hail-2
comsat on Nov. 15 from Launch
Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center, FL.
Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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PORT CANAVERAL, FL – Barely four days after a recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off Thursday afternoon Nov. 15 from Florida’s Space Coast and successfully delivered the powerful Es’hail-2 telecommunications satellite to orbit for Qatar, and subsequent safe upright touchdown on an ocean going platform in the Atlantic Ocean, the recovered first stage booster sailed into Port Canaveral at lunchtime today for a beautiful return to home base, Monday, Nov. 19, under mostly cloudy skies.
The
now twice ‘flight-proven’ and twice ‘ocean-landed’ 1st stage booster
was towed into Port Canaveral channel around 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT) Nov. 19, 2018 after
a freighter departed earlier Monday morning.
Check out our Space UpClose extensive eyewitness photo
gallery showing the magnificent approach of the still other worldly sight of
the first stage into Port Canaveral from far out in the Atlantic Ocean, sailing through the narrow channel and docking
to land.
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Manmade and Natural wonders: Oceanside view of SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage
booster arrival back into Port Canaveral, FL on Nov. 19, 2018 reflecting in ocean
waters with crashing waves, egrets and water fowl watching by Jetty Park Pier. Guided by SpaceX Naval fleet atop the ocean
going OCISLY droneship platform upon which it landed after launching Es’hail-2 comsat on Nov. 15 from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space
Center, FL. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Click
back for more as the gallery grows.
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Between the Reeds. Oceanside view of
SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster arrival back into Port Canaveral, FL on Nov.
19, 2018. Towed by SpaceX Naval fleet atop OCISLY droneship platform upon which
it landed after launching Es’hail-2 comsat on Nov. 15
from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center, FL. Credit: Ken
Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Keep Off Rocks: Apparently seems that no
one obeys the rules when an 'out of this world' event like a rarely seen bird
stir passions! - Namely the SpaceX
Falcon 9 first stage booster sailing back into Port Canaveral, FL on OCISLY droneship
suddenly floats by without warning on Nov. 19, after Nov. 15 Es’hail-2 launch from
KSC. Credit: Ken
Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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| Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
OCISLY
was prepositioned some 400 miles (640 km) off shore in the Atlantic Ocean a few
days prior to the scheduled liftoff.
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SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster sailing
back into Port Canaveral, FL reflecting in waters past giant cruise ship on Nov.
19, 2018. Towed atop OCISLY droneship platform upon which it landed after
launching Es’hail-2
comsat on Nov. 15 from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space
Center, FL. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Given the
midday arrival time, the work crews apparently didn’t have enough time to attached
the hoisting cap and crane it off the droneship onto land. Thus craning will apparently
be done Tuesday morning at the earliest.
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Water reflecting SpaceX Falcon 9
first stage booster sailing back into Port Canaveral, FL past pelican navy cruise
ship on Nov. 19, 2018. Towed atop OCISLY droneship platform upon which it
landed after launching Es’hail-2
comsat on Nov. 15 from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space
Center, FL. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Overall it took about two hours from the time the Falcon
arrived at the Port until docking at its designated berthing spot around 2:30
p.m. ET
The 15-story tall sooty Falcon 9 Block 5 version booster - labeled
1047.2 - was sooty in appearance
as usual but not excessively so upon arrival after a sea going voyage of nearly
four days and a space going voyage of roughly some four minutes up and four
minutes down.
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SpaceX
Falcon 9 first stage booster sails back into Port Canaveral, FL on Nov. 19,
2018 towed to dockside berthing port by SpaceX Naval fleet atop the ocean going
OCISLY droneship platform upon which it landed – after launching Es’hail-2
comsat on Nov. 15 from Launch
Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center, FL.
Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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| Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
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| Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
This reused booster was previously used to launch the Telstar 19V telecomsat on July 22 2018 for Canadian based Telesat.
The 229-foot-tall (70 meters) Falcon 9 successfully delivered the Es’hail 2 satellite for Qatar to its intended geostationary transfer orbit. Subsequently the satellite will be raised to geostationary orbit circling Earth 22,500 miles (36,000 kilometers) over the equator.
The precision guided rocket assisted soft landing of the 156 foot tall booster on OCISLY took place just over eight after launch from KSC. All 4 landing legs successfully deployed in the last seconds.
At least one Merlin 1D engined was reignited to carry out an entry burn and then a propulsive pinpoint landing burn using a stock of the residual propellants to rapidly slow the descent through the speed of sound in the final moments before touchdown.
This landing counts as the 31th successful landing overall by land and sea and the 18th by sea.
The launch also marks the 18th by SpaceX this year, matching the company’s record total manifest from last year.
The Es’hail 2 satellite was built by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. in Japan. It is owned by Qatar’s national satellite communications company, Es’hailSat. It weighs 11,700 pounds (5,300 kilograms).
At sunset the recovered booster
remained on OCISLY overnight – making for some beautiful photographic opportunities!
SpaceX’s next launch from Florida is slated for no earlier than Dec. 4 on the Dragon CRS-16 cargo resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station (ISS).
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Manmade and Natural wonders: Oceanside view of SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage
booster arrival back into Port Canaveral, FL on Nov. 19, 2018 reflecting in ocean
waters with crashing waves, egrets and water fowl watching by Jetty Park Pier. Guided by SpaceX Naval fleet atop the ocean
going OCISLY droneship platform upon which it landed after launching Es’hail-2 comsat on Nov. 15 from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space
Center, FL. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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| Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area.
………….
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
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Julia
Bergeron and Jean Wright celebrate arrival of recovered SpaceX Falcon 9 into
Port Canaveral on Nov. 19, 2018. Credit: Ken
Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Alicia Murphy and Ken Kremer
pose with landed SpaceX Falcon 9 reflecting between us in the channel of Port
Canaveral after sailing back home on Nov. 19, 2018. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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