{"id":15300,"date":"2016-08-20T22:53:50","date_gmt":"2016-08-20T14:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/another-falcon-9-rocket-returns-to-perch-in-port-canaveral\/"},"modified":"2016-08-20T22:53:50","modified_gmt":"2016-08-20T14:53:50","slug":"another-falcon-9-rocket-returns-to-perch-in-port-canaveral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/another-falcon-9-rocket-returns-to-perch-in-port-canaveral\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Falcon 9 rocket returns to perch in Port Canaveral"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A 156-foot-tall (47-meter) first stage from a Falcon 9 rocket sits at Port Canaveral on Saturday evening. Credit: Stephen Clark\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sixth Falcon 9 rocket booster recovered by SpaceX has returned to Port Canaveral after an up-and-down flight Aug. 14 that sent a commercial Japanese broadcasting satellite toward orbit.<\/p>\n

The 15-story first stage of the Falcon 9 launcher touched down on SpaceX\u2019s landing vessel nearly 400 miles east of Cape Canaveral less than nine minutes after blastoff at 1:26 a.m. EDT (0526 GMT).<\/p>\n

After detaching from the Falcon 9\u2019s upper stage, the booster flipped around and ignited three of its nine Merlin engines for a re-entry burn, then fired its center engine just before landing to slow down before reaching the football field-sized barge.<\/p>\n

Aerodynamic grid fins helped steer the rocket, and four landing legs popped open seconds before touchdown.<\/p>\n

The landing ship, dubbed \u201cOf Course I Still Love You\u201d after planet-sized starships featured in Iain Banks\u2019 sci-fi novels, was towed back to Port Canaveral, where it arrived Wednesday. SpaceX technicians lifted the rocket off the barge Wednesday evening and on to a cradle at the port, then removed the four landing legs.<\/p>\n

Ground crews are expected to soon rotate the rocket horizontal, lower it onto a trailer, and truck it back through the gate to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for further inspections and potential use on another mission.<\/p>\n

SpaceX is now 6-for-11 in Falcon 9 rocket landing attempts since the company began experiments with propulsive braking and landing maneuvers targeting a ship or landing pad in January 2015. The record for landings at sea is now 4-for-9.<\/p>\n

Here is the full list of successful Falcon 9 rocket landings, noting whether the booster landed at sea or on land, and if the flight occurred at night or during daytime:<\/p>\n