Telstar 19 VANTAGE (Falcon 9)
25 July 2018
Return of first stage to
Port Canaveral
Page Two of Two
The SpaceX Falcon 9 Block V Telstar 19 first stage returned to Port Canaveral aboard the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship just after sunrise on 25 July 2018.
The pilot boat headed out in the darkness before dawn to meet the returning SpaceX fleet with its precious cargo.
Two of three tugs waiting in the Port Canaveral channel to assist in the return of the droneship.
The Go Quest was the first to arrive with its rear deck covered with tracking and communication gear to assist and monitor the booster's droneship landing.
Detail of some of the gear on Go Quest's deck.
The tugboat "Hawk" pulling into the channel with the Falcon 9 Block 5 booster on the droneship where it landed.
The Hawk assisted by the Florida work their way slowly down the channel into Port.
The bottom of the rocket with its nine Merlin engines and landing legs deployed. Note the men standing at left giving a sense of scale to the large booster.
Soot covers the booster from its wild flight to the edge of space and back.
The tugs shepherd the droneship and booster into Port Canaveral.
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