SpaceX has pulled off a historic feat, after launching a rocket into space from the coast of Florida and landing the rocket booster in another country.
Tuesday’s mission marked the first time a Falcon 9 landed on a droneship off the coast of the Bahamas.
Nearly eight minutes after blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Falcon 9’s first stage booster landed on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship stationed off the coast of the Bahamas, in the Atlantic Ocean.
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SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship off the coast of the Bahamas (Handout)
“This is the first time that a rocket has taken off from one country, gone to space and landed in another country!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X.
The commercial space company said being able to land in the Bahamas allows Falcon 9 to maximize its performance by launching into a southeast trajectory from the Florida Space Coast.
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SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship off the coast of the Bahamas (Handout)
For instance, launching toward the southeast allows SpaceX to put additional satellites into orbit, while also allowing the rockets to launch human spaceflight missions like Fram2, a polar-orbit human spaceflight mission to explore Earth.
SpaceX also said landing off the coast of the Bahamas provides greater winter weather for recovery options, which will allow the Falcon booster to continue to provide “rapid and reliable service” for the company’s customers.
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SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship off the coast of the Bahamas (Handout)
The Falcon 9 booster used in Tuesday’s mission was previously used to launch eight astronauts to the space station, critical cargo and supplies to the orbital lab, and send over 200 Starlink satellites into orbit, among other things.
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In fact, on Tuesday, the booster helped deliver another 23 Starlink satellites into orbit before making its return to terrestrial Earth.
