SpaceX's drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas", which was launched after the first Falcon 9 rocket launch, will return to port on August 31, 2021.
CAPE CANAVERAL (Fla.) SpaceX's newest drone vessel, "A Shortfall of Gravitas", arrived at port Tuesday (Aug. 31, with its first catch on its deck.
SpaceX has named the booster B1061 after it. It launched two days earlier carrying a cargo Dragon spacecraft to NASA's International Space Station (ISS).
This massive ship is the latest in SpaceX's trio drone ships. They are designed to be floating landing platforms for rockets to land on. It will join "Just Read the Instructions" as the recovery vessel for SpaceX’s East Coast launch operations. "Of Course, I Still Love You", the most popular ship of the company, has moved to the West Coast.
Related: Elon Musk unveiled SpaceX's latest drone ship for rocket landings at sea
The return of a drone ship
To witness the entire action of ASOG's triumphant return to port I climbed into an unmanned helicopter and flew above the waterway.
The huge ship arrived at the port's entry around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. It waited patiently for its escort tugs, which would help it pull into the SpaceX docks.
My pilot took only a few minutes to find ASOG and its cargo. We circled the huge booster and marveled at it from all angles. Although it was my first helicopter flight, I was incredibly nervous. However, the flight was so smooth. It was amazing to see the booster from such high altitude.
It can be difficult to grasp scale, but the sight of the booster and drone next to the tiny tugboat (and other vessels) really showed how large ASOG is.
Image 1 of 7 SpaceX’s drone ship "A shortfall of gravity" returns to port after its successful Falcon 9 rocket landing. (Image credit to Amy Thompson/Space.com. Image 2 of 7 SpaceX’s drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on August 31, 2021 after it's first successful Falcon 9 rocket landing. (Image credit to Amy Thompson/Space.com. Image 3 of 7 SpaceX’s drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on August 31, 2021 after it's first successful Falcon 9 rocket landing. Image credit: Amy Thompson/Space.com. Image 4 of 7 SpaceX’s drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on August 31, 2021 after it's first successful Falcon 9 rocket landing. (Image credit to Amy Thompson/Space.com. Image 5 of 7 SpaceX’s drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on August 31, 2021 after it's first successful Falcon 9 rocket landing. Image credit: Amy Thompson/Space.com. Image 6 of 7 SpaceX’s drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on August 31, 2021 after it's first successful Falcon 9 rocket landing. (Image credit to Amy Thompson/Space.com. Image 7 of 7 SpaceX’s drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on August 31, 2021 after it has successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket. (Image credit to Amy Thompson/Space.com
Four-time flier B1061, was extremely sooty and scorched from multiple trips to space. The rocket has been able to carry three different Dragon spacecrafts, a broadband satellite for Sirius XM, as well as the first booster that has landed on all three SpaceX drone ships.
The most recent launch was from Pad 39A NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 29 at 3:14 a.m. It delivered a cargo Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The cargo ship was loaded with 4,800 lb (2,177 kg) of supplies and research materials for the crew.
An overview of ASOG
SpaceX has increased its launch frequency in recent years. SpaceX has also increased its launch frequency, resulting in the need for additional ships to assist with recovery efforts. SpaceX has two options for landing its rockets. One is on a floating platform at sea and one at a designated landing site.
Returning to the launch site landing takes more fuel, so it's not always possible, especially if the Falcon 9 has a large payload. The majority of work is done by the drone ships. These ships can be moved around and use less fuel than the rocket.
SpaceX designed two drone ships to recover first-stage boosters so that they could be refueled multiple times. As the company's launch frequency has increased, so did the need to build another ship.
Elon Musk, the founder of the company and its CEO, teased the idea of a third drone-ship in 2018. The highly anticipated ship finally sailed in Port Canaveral, Florida in July after a long wait.
The ship was built in Fourchon, Louisiana. It features a new design, and improvements over the older ships. ASOG is now completely autonomous. This means that the drone ship can navigate itself to the recovery zone, and back.
ASOG, like the other ships was named in honor of Iain M. Banks, a science fiction writer. SpaceX's three drone ships are all based on ships from Banks' "Culture” series of novels.
The two veteran ships currently rely on tugs for assistance in getting to the designated recovery zones for each launch. Port Canaveral rules state that ASOG requires a tugboat to transport it through the port. However, it will be able to drive itself out to sea on future missions.
What's next?
Image 1 of 3 SpaceX’s drone ship "A shortfall of gravity" returns to port after its successful Falcon 9 rocket landing on Aug. 31, 2021. Image credit: Amy Thompson/Space.com. Image 2 of 3 SpaceX’s drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on August 31, 2021 after it's first successful Falcon 9 rocket landing. Image credit: Amy Thompson/Space.com. Image 3 of 3 SpaceX’s drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on August 31, 2021 after it has successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket. (Image credit to Amy Thompson/Space.com
After crews have removed the booster from ASOG it will be inspected. If all goes well, it can fly again in the future.
ASOG will be sharing recovery duties with "Just Read the Instructions", as SpaceX prepares to launch the remainder of the year. SpaceX experienced a two month lull in launches as it upgraded its Starlink internet satellites.
SpaceX had aspirations to launch at least 40 rockets by 2021. This would be an increase on the 26 rockets launched in 2020. However, SpaceX's satellites work and potential shortage of liquid oxygen may have slowed that goal down, but it could still reach 30 launches for the year which would be a new record. If everything goes according to plan, that is.
SpaceX's drone ship, "Just Read The Instructions", and the GO Navigator (docked right), and GO Searcher are pictured at Port Canaveral. Image credit: Amy Thompson/Space.com
Sunday morning's departure from the company was number 21. There are still a few on the manifest.
SpaceX's next mission will be the Inspiration 4. The mission, which will launch no later than September 15, is the first all-private citizen mission by SpaceX.
The flight launched from Pad 39A and was bought by Jared Issacman (founder of Shift4payment), a billionaire. Haley Arceneaux and Sian Proctor will join him.
As part of a mission to raise millions of dollars for St. Jude, the crew will be strapped into a Crew Dragon spacecraft and orbit Earth for three days.
Follow Amy Thompson @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Facebook @Spacedotcom and Twitter @astrogingersnap
