Falcon 9 First Stage Booster Tips Over Following Touchdown on Droneship Stationed Off the East Coast of Florida
By Space Coast Daily // August 28, 2024
This was the booster's 23rd launch
ABOVE VIDEO: SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket Wednesday Carrying Starlink Satellites from Cape Canaveral.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – SpaceX announced on Wednesday that after a successful ascent, Falcon 9’s first stage booster tipped over following touchdown on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship.
Launch teams are assessing the booster’s flight data and status.
This was the booster’s 23rd launch.
A Shortfall of Gravitas is an Autonomous Spaceport Droneship based on the US East Coast for offshore Falcon booster landings.
The autonomous spaceport droneship (ASDS), operates out of Port Canaveral, Florida.
The droneship is based upon barge Marmac 302. A Shortfall of Gravitas is named after a spacecraft titled ‘Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall‘ from the novel ‘Look to Windward‘, from author Iain M. Banks’s Culture series.
After a successful ascent, Falcon 9’s first stage booster tipped over following touchdown on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship. Teams are assessing the booster’s flight data and status. This was the booster’s 23rd launch.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 28, 2024
A Shortfall of Gravitas was first announced in 2018 by Elon Musk. A further update suggested that the droneship would enter service in 2019 but no further news on this followed. Musk once again mentioned the droneship in October 2020.
Elon Musk officially showcased the droneship on July 9th, 2021, tweeting a short clip of ASOG running autonomously during a sea trial. A Shortfall of Gravitas arrived at its Florida home port on July 15th, 2021.
