SpaceX drone ship sees last Falcon 9 landing, shifts to Starship support
SpaceX's 'Just Read the Instructions' drone ship returned to Port Canaveral with a Falcon 9 booster for the last time, marking the end of an era as it shifts to support Starship operations. The drone ship supported 156 Falcon 9 first stage booster landings out at sea and will now prepare for Starship launches from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A and Launch Complex 37 in Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX's 'Just Read the Instructions' drone ship returned to Port Canaveral on April 23 with the first stage booster from the April 21 GPS III mission launch, marking its final Falcon 9 booster landing. The drone ship supported 156 Falcon 9 first stage booster landings out at sea since late 2015. It will now shift to support Starship operations, as SpaceX prepares to launch Starship from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A and Launch Complex 37 in Cape Canaveral. The company's other drone ship, 'A Shortfall of Gravitas', will support landings from Florida Falcon 9 launches. SpaceX VP of Launch Kiko Dontchev stated that one operational drone ship is sufficient to maintain their Falcon manifest. SpaceX is expected to launch Starship from Florida by the end of the year, with Version 3 (V3) of Starship preparing for another test flight from Texas.
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