How SpaceX Recovers Falcon 9 after Drone Ship Landings - Port Canaveral Recovery Operations

[@KSpaceAcademy]

Timestamps for quick reference: 0:00 Booster returning to port 0:47 Tugs berthing ASDS 1:08 More crew and equipment board 1:38 Closeup booster pan 2:40 Sunrise at Port 3:22 Lifting Cap attached 5:13 Leg Retraction ops begin 6:50 SpaceX Fleet Ballet 8:10 Morning prep for lift 8:53 Octograbber release and retraction 9:07 Booster lifted off ASDS 10:17 Lifting cap removed 10:49 Booster rolled on long axis 11:24 Booster rolled out of port

[@rauminen4167]

"Booster rolled on long axis out of port" :D Like a log

[@llewellynvandermerwe2535]

It look like a long process with many man hours and mechanical resources to make the recovery. Is it not cheaper to manufacture a new rocket?

[@TheEmmetdocbrown]

@@llewellynvandermerwe2535 Nope. It is much cheaper to reuse this Rocket. A new Rocket needs much more hours of production and testing as this reusable Rocket was. Especially it is designed to be reusable.

[@tokunboadeleye7003]

Gggg g try calling gg attributes g. tg get vyLtdvv c to gob The gg. The VC g gtg. The v vgtvGolf Amit got for rRtlv vvv g Vyyttv To. Attached y

[@dphuntsman]

@@llewellynvandermerwe2535No. ArkInvest estimates SpaceX has F9 refurbishment cost down to $1.5m. - Dave Huntsman

[@NASASpaceflight]

This is fascinating, even if you've seen many of these before. Great edit by Brady here. Happy New Year everyone!

[@colz2607]

Happy new year

[@NASASpaceflight]

@@robertvanrees Got it, thanks!

[@NASASpaceflight]

@@politonno2499 Yesterday was New Year's Eve and very poor weather. There will likely be one tonight. It's less than 12 hours into 2021 at Boca Chica :D

[@tecktan7250]

Will sn 9 s flight have the same amaount of camera Angeles as sn 8 or more? Btw happy new year!

[@jackwhitlock1]

@@tecktan7250 Probably the same

[@mikemullen8174]

'You're a crane driver, your job isn't exactly rocket science." "Funny you should say that..."

[@shadowraith1]

Thanks for sharing.🚀🚀🚀

[@primozimo3041]

"So one day i was at work and they asked me if i like rockets."

[@tarmaque]

I know a guy who is a contract operator for one of those huge cranes. He makes _bank,_ and has very little education. That said it is not an easy profession to get into.

[@banana_junior_9000]

"operator"

[@mobilemarshall]

@@tarmaque My dad was a crane operator. It might not require a lot of formal education but it's definitely a skill intensive line of work. You're also usually handling things that are worth a whole lot of money.

[@IvelLeCog]

The content that the NSF team are producing is quite bloody brilliant. It's all played back at a good speed for covering a lot of stuff, and the ambient audio really helps to take us to these places

[@MindVent]

Its amazing watching these Falcon9's processed amongst these shipping containers etc - it feels so much like SpaceX is roaring into the future, whilst leaving the world around it behind.

[@mesau7002]

Hard to appreciate the size until you see people standing around it. Thanks for the video!

[@dakinesurfer85]

It's amazing to think of all the logistics and engineering involved in just the recovery process alone. Thanks for the video

[@hojoj.1974]

First time I've ever seen this procedure. Quite fascinating. Awesome work SpaceX. Awesome footage NASA.

[@banana_junior_9000]

Not NASA but NASASpaceflight

[@leonidd00]

Great view to realize once again how huge this rockets are. And it's fascinating that they have such precise landing accuracy.

[@FallSkyX]

1:24 I like how I could see a dragon craft right there.

[@MindVent]

yeah they aparrently use that one as a dummy for practicing recovery

[@SeanK_emmettPlays]

I was about to ask why is there a dragon there

[@Near14300]

@@SeanK_emmettPlays It came there to hibernate after daenerys died.

[@w3vjp568]

I can’t wait to see the massive towers and gantries they’re going to build for the whole Starship stack! It’s going to make the Falcon 9 processing look like child’s play in comparison.

[@TwistedQuestionMark]

I can't even imagine!

[@warrenwattles8397]

I've often wondered what that infrastructure is going to look like, because they can't lay out out horizontally. Additionally, they can't lift it by the sides - it all has to be from the bottom or the top along the vertical axis. That puts a lot of limits on how it can work.

[@hrissan]

@@warrenwattles8397 starships never go horizontal on earth, so boosters will probably also be always vertical?

[@donjones4719]

The Launch Mount will have one large tower. It will be even more impressive, since Elon announced he wants SH to be caught by the tower arm as it lands and put directly on the mount, without ever touching the ground. SH won't even have landing legs.

[@BrokenLifeCycle]

@@hrissan Starships can handle some lateral loading, especially when it belly-flops back from space. The question here is how much. If Starship experiences an average of 1 G of acceleration during reentry, it's safe to say that it can handle sitting horizontal if in a proper cradle to distribute the force evenly. It might even handle more than 1 G. After all, a Space shuttle experiences a peak of 1.7 G during reentry and they're not decelerating as aggressively as what Starship is expected to handle. Superheavy, on the other hand, is almost assuredly going to be handling axial loads almost exclusively.

[@aarons1234]

9:07 it looks like Go Navigator, Searcher and Quest are huddling close to keep the F9 booster company, they probably just want hugs

[@mountaindewdude76]

That's impressive! I liked seeing the ballet with the tugboats as they maneuver into position. Too cool!!

[@Falcon9Block5]

Can we appreciate how maneuverable Go Searcher, Quest, and Navigator are? It's incredible!

[@davids5080]

6:50 watching those ships take their positions was great actually had to watch it a few times

[@pferd5639]

Wow. Never knew they could rotate it longitudinally once it was on the carrier. Thanks NSF! And, BTW, highly recommend Rusty's. Sasha kitty is very friendly, the food is actually quite good, and the view, well . . .

[@FPV4x4Action]

This is top footage, and great editing. I'd seen parts of the process previously, but this explains it so well. Looking forward to all the events and NSF coverage in 2021!

[@mukeshgoyal]

Why they rolled the booster?

[@bpo6955]

What a great video! Thank you for posting this- really adds to my understanding. Awesome work!

[@Richard.Holmquist]

This was a really informative video. Not only the video itself, but the various comments were also interesting.

[@Ava-uq5dh]

It's jaw dropping to see the pan over the booster and to think "That thing's gone to space, landed itself, and will go to space again"

[@FallSkyX]

Now do how do They do it after landing zone landings.

[@viraginjankar4968]

Yes this will be very interesting to see

[@olivier.9339]

They make sure it's good, retract the legs while being held by a crane, tipped over using 2 cranes and transported back to the refurbishing facility, way simpler than this,

[@philb5593]

Unfortunately it is much harder to see the landing zone, but the process would look fairly similar. The biggest difference is there is no octograbber. I assume they lift the booster onto a stand like they used to at the port and then fold the legs and lower it horizontal.

[@MomedicsChannel]

Some big dudes just pick it up and carry it.

[@nicosmind3]

They use a large explosion to knock it over, then multiple bombs to roll it into the factory, and after its arrived at its destination, they work out whats left over that they can use

[@cthulhuhoops7538]

You get a really good sense of the scale here. Its easy to forget just how enormous these things are.

[@jamesmihalcik1310]

Who doesn't love a Falcon rotisserie :) Such a well engineered turnaround. For an at sea landing, the economics are off the charts. Awesome capture NASA Spaceflight!

[@edhunt5909]

Hi all, hope all are good. Watching at around 1:30 I noticed a Dragon 2 in the background and was wondering, would this a be a recovery trainer of sorts for the recovery crew? Or have the managed to sparkle Endeavour back up dockside (unlikely but may as well ask). Thanks all, have a good day

[@aarons1234]

Yeah, it's a training mockup the recovery crew use to practice

[@edhunt5909]

@@aarons1234 ah good to know, thank you

[@e1123581321345589144]

Oh wow. Only seeing them on video and filmed from afar, it's easy to forget how massive these boosters really are. This video gives a much needed sense of scale by showing the workers nearby.

[@skysurferuk]

Bad enough being on a cherry picker on land, at height, never mind on a moving boat... Would love to see a full explanation of that lifting cap, seems to remotely attach itself. Then how strong the booster must be to be laid down like that without flexing itself to a big banana... Just. Wow!

[@Abb0nz1]

I am curious how the cap attached. Is it done remotely (I'm guessing yes) or could there be people inside? But I can't see how they would get in/out.

[@skysurferuk]

@@Abb0nz1 Did you not watch this video?

[@fredericvadez7998]

I read in some spacex aficionados forum that the fuel tanks were pressurised to increase global rigidity... But if so, it does not clearly appear in this awesome footage. Could be one more legend...

[@Abb0nz1]

@@skysurferuk lol, what? Yes I did. Not sure where you're going with that...

[@AttilaAsztalos]

At 10:34 one can see a central "stick" protruding from the cap - that looks a lot like what we see during launches when the second stage is detaching; it's probably attaching itself to the same central point at the top of the tanks. The rest is likely support by those three points seen around the circumference of top of the booster. The alignment is probably done via cameras looking down from the rig (or possibly the exact same reactivated cameras on the booster we watch on launches). The rest is just some clever self-(or remote-)latching clamping...

[@jrengineer82]

Great Vid team - also funny around 10:55 in the vid there's one massive rat (i think) on the top left containers (green & white) just jumping around, is that how FL grows them?

[@austinreid3951]

thats one huge rat- i suppose it could be some bigger mammal but the way it was acting looked like a rat- ratzilla, formerly the mascot of the NYC metro now the mascot of port Canaveral

[@donjones4719]

Fun thought, but it's more likely a possum or raccoon.

[@Richard.Holmquist]

Whatever it is, sharp eye, nice catch.

[@pulsar7632]

it might be a cat, the way it sits every once and a while.

[@ericgeorge4835]

This was amazing footage. Really breaks it down for people! I can’t imagine how difficult trying to navigate to the hanger from port must be

[@NathanWakeman]

God those boosters are huge.

[@Nomaadla]

Thank you from France ans happy New year

[@TwistedQuestionMark]

Argh, I wish I still lived on Merritt Island! Great video. TY!

[@antoineroquentin2297]

why is it called landing if it doesn't land on land? shouldn't it be called shipp.. no wait

[@nithinrajendran3091]

Mind = 🤯

[@donjones4719]

Good one. :D I do wonder how naval aviators wrestled with this term when they first started landing on ships.

[@x-poker4095]

Ship#^@^ing

[@1Idontwantachannel]

Shipanding

[@kaijuuARH]

Landship??

[@andrewwmitchell]

Thanks for showing this process. Absolutely fascinating. Seeing people working to fold the legs made me realise the scale of these boosters.

[@Isbjoern42]

Sooo nice to see it all in one video

[@coregmr]

It look so amazing, how the booster makes it way over the streets in the end xD

[@philipstull7629]

Another example of how SpaceX is changing everyday and most always for the better and easier.

[@ManipulationTotaleFr]

9:00 this man is hulk

[@FabledGentleman]

Puny weight

[@Aragorn450]

So it looks to me like the cap is put on and released from the crane without anybody going up there? Which means it is able to attach to the booster itself (or at least via remote control) and also that the crane attachment point can release and then attach again remotely. That's pretty impressive. I'm also impressed at the precision of the crane operator in getting the cap in place without anybody up there guiding it. I'm sure it's got some guides built in to make it slide in the last few inches exactly right but still, that's some VERY good crane operators!

[@nolsp7240]

I think there are sensors at the clamp that give feedback to the crane operator for proper adjustments.

[@mukeshgoyal]

Whatever it is.. The power with which it attach itself and remains there when the crane lift the booster is amazing

[@crafty_geek]

A mention of Octograbber prior to the start of landing leg folding operations would've been nice, "lifting rig" made me think initially that F9 would be suspended from the crane during leg-folding. Awesome video, thanks!

[@DerkMiester]

Wow, I always wondered that! Thanks for sharing this!

[@GuillermoGarciaAstro]

I always wanted to know exactly what happens between recovery and next fly, well, 10% of that questions had been answered. Amazing work NSF, what an amazing year you all gave us!

[@vonpredator]

Cool! I didn’t know that they rotated it on the truck when horizontal. The first new thing I learned this new year! Hope for many more pearls of wisdom from NSF this year!

[@semmelatanc]

Same here. But kind of wondering why they don't just lay it down in the right orientation. I'm guessing some sort of structural reason.

[@sensmith1]

Perfect video about this process. Thank you NSF.

[@sebringb]

Excellent time-lapse documentary! Fleet Cam!

[@demultiplexdfunc177]

The operation is time consuming and complicated. Now I appreciate why it make sense to transition to Starship and the catch maneuver of super heavy.

[@GerardHammond]

Not really. A couple of cranes, a truck and a load spreader.

[@Mallchad]

Elon really likes automation. This is the opposite of automation. Its also not that sustainable to hire this many people for every landing.

[@armchairrevolutionary9548]

Extraordinary,I was watching the landings of the reusable boosters.few years ago.brilliant innovative minds.love it

[@TheBrownFamilyWorkshop]

Dear Spacex,,, Yesterday was wonderful, powerful, Exciting, and Heartwarming. Thank you for the great time.. Tomorrow fills my heart with anticipation. My soul with a new realm of "what if's" and "What may become".. My mind fills with thoughts of what was impossible yesterday, that I saw happen today. What "Impossible" concepts from Yesterday do I need to rethink, to make possible tomorrow.

[@fabiopretini5901]

thank you guys, you are awesome!

[@KarlaHafdahl]

thank you FleetCam

[@aarons1234]

I never knew the exact recovery procedure, really cool seeing it in such great detail

[@Aaron_b_c]

Fascinating. Very good quality editing and great shots.

[@L4JP]

When and how do they attach the two rings that hold the booster on the transporter? When the booster was lowered horizontally (9:10 - 9:19) they were not on it, but at 9:20 they were magically already there.

[@A1CNick]

Between this facility and Boca Chica, TX, Spacex must have the highest skilled crane operators in the world!

[@peterpicroc6065]

"High" skilled 😉

[@markb2773]

Happy New Year NSF! Thank you for all your long hours and hard work in bringing this knowledge and enjoyment to so many of us!

[@tristanbaileyl5937]

I actually work in that port. It’s always really cool seeing the falcon 9s come in

[@binull4778]

Thanks NSF, definitely learn't some new stuff from this video! Now I'm going to try follow a booster though processing at port on Fleetcam!

[@Kabup2]

'partnership with Rusty's Seafood & Oyster Bar' Lol, looking at the booster while eating shrimp

[@FreeRadicalX]

I think it's genius, any NSF tank watchers who are ever down in Florida and want to spot a F9 will undoubtedly pick Rusty's first. I'm a vegetarian and even I would love to order a few drinks and check it out if I was in the area.

[@Kabup2]

@@FreeRadicalX I know, right? it must be a nice place to hanging around

[@GerardHammond]

Yep, I will be eating there!

[@skm8838]

5:21 it takes 1 second for a landing leg to deploy but a long time to put it back

[@owensparks5013]

As my old mountain bike club used to say "Gravity sucks".

[@nolsp7240]

Like compressing car shock absorbers only a hundred times bigger.😆

[@gregsmith1116]

Thank you NASASPACEFLIGHT! Here's to a great 2021 and many successful launches and landings!

[@Big.Ron1]

That booster is big! And to think its a baby compared to what is next in the SpaceX string of hits. Thank you NASA for showing this to us, the uninitiated public.

[@anthoneyking6572]

Wow that was awesome to watch thank you and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the Crew

[@mariangribbin9996]

Fascinating to watch!

[@jonathandicker4276]

The bits that impress me the most: - The octograbber - I hadn't realised how big the robot actually is, nor that it could support the weight of the booster (I thought that it was just a 'grab and hold' thing) - The lifting cap - cleverly designed to mate with the interstage so that nobody needs to be up that high in an EWP to attach lifting chains.

[@janmb]

One aspect I don't fully understand about octagrabber... Sure, it is rc guided and driven out under the booster, grabbing it. But how is the robot secured to the surface of the drone ship? For the grabber to actually provide increased stability and sea state tolerance, securing it to the ship is necessary, no?

[@avecas]

10:50 "Roger roll, Atlantis"

[@walleyeottagofishingchanne3960]

cool prospective , love all the video and live streams . you guys are doing a great job . Happy New Years!

[@MisterItchy]

That's quite an undertaking!

[@guysmith3831]

Way more interesting than you would think !

[@Mr.Dobalina_Mr.BobDobalina]

Fascinating. Thank you and Happy New Year!

[@biovmr]

Awesome video/editing. Thanks!

[@A1CNick]

Really well done, interesting video. Thanks for putting in the work. Happy New Year!

[@marcinmarcin2506]

Thanks for great shots!

[@jbjuggler]

Thanks for a great video showing the return procedure!

[@cletusfordwicke7608]

This is fantastic. Thank you.

[@rong1924]

Still very labor intensive. SpaceX wants to turn these around like an airliner that is making a stop at an airport. Land, head to terminal, refuel, new cargo, and take off again in 48 hours. It makes sense that now they are planning to land the superheavy booster back on the actual launch facility.

[@AuroraSkylark]

This really puts the size of the booster into scale

[@tomnothr1424]

That rocket is bigger than i thought. A Monster!

[@MrKosxrem]

What is the round module they remove in 10:24?

[@DJCruicky]

It's the lifting cap that lowers cables down to the legs. The legs are then pulled up via these cables. See 3:30

[@The.RandomTube]

This was fun to watch even though I knew what happens already😂😂

[@hotrodandrube9119]

That was cool, thanks for this video. I'd never seen the process before.

[@mukeshgoyal]

Hoping to get a ans for 1. How the cap attached itself/remotely? Nd that too with such accuracy too provide stability while they lift the bosster. 2. 10:50 why they need to roll the booster or how much they roll it before transporting it. Whey the roll is even necessary?

[@tammymccaslin4787]

I didn’t realize there was so much processing that happens. Thanks for the video! I would love to see a documentary that follows a booster from drone ship to launch pad. Interviews with the crews that care for it and cool details that you wouldn’t think about. That would be cool.

[@owensparks5013]

I'm sure blue origin would like to see that documentary too 💡

[@philb5593]

That really would be cool, but something like that would have to come from SpaceX themselves.

[@ДмитроЯ-я6б]

Батут работает !👍

[@vnth2186]

So the booster reuse turnout includes the 4 days at the shipyard! Wow.

[@_NotSlime]

1:21 is that crew dragon endeavour in the back?

[@L4JP]

No, it's a non-flown Dragon that is used to practice ocean recovery.

[@jerryz_here3614]

11:30 what’s the dragon capsule doing at the port

[@eguaDRo]

This is amazing!

[@fauzi9011]

Auto-grabber? How does it work? I didn't know the drone ships have them. How long does it take for a rocket to be turned around if they land on the drone ships? Can't wait to when I will be able to watch all of this in action. Happy new year!

[@philb5593]

Octograbber. Named for the octoweb which is the eight segment thrust structure on F9. It is a robot that lives on the deck and after F9 lands it drives out of its little garage and grabs onto the octoweb at the bottom of the booster. Its job is to stabilize the booster and keep it from tipping or sliding. The drone ships usually take around 3 days to return with the booster, however this varies due to the position of the landing zone and the sea states.

[@fauzi9011]

@@philb5593 Oh its Octograbber. And 3 days? Jeez, didn't think it would take that long.

[@wschmrdr]

1:21 Is that a Dragon in the background?

[@HelensHouseAndGarden]

Great video. Any chance you can get an interview about how the heavy loads are moved and how the transporters are driven? Happy New Year guys!

[@marksommers6764]

Very cool to see , THANKS !

[@raymondberry7099]

Amazing to see how much work is involved just to get the booster shipped back for refurbishing. Wonder if they have considsred simplifying and automating (if that is even possible) that process? Building cars is one thing, but rockets are just so darn big.

[@olgadeykun806]

It was really interesting! Thanks a lot!

[@inifinitecorners]

This is amazing stuff. Thank you guys. Few questions: 1. Why is the booster rotated before transport ? 2. How much time elapsed between reaching the port to moving out of port ? I can see why Elon wants to catch booster from air and save time on recovery.

[@L4JP]

SpaceX won't be catching boosters in the air - all boosters they have ever made are WAY too big. Perhaps you're thinking of Rocket Lab, who is working on catching their Electron boosters (which are quite small) with a helicopter, snatching them by the parachute lines.

[@inifinitecorners]

@@L4JP Elon tweeted just 2 days ago about their plan to get rid of landing legs and instead have the launchpad tower grab it just seconds before its about to land. This is planned so that the booster can be be ready for another launch almost immediately (within 1 hour)

[@L4JP]

@@inifinitecorners That tweet was about the Super Heavy booster, not Falcon 9. But yeah, I guess technically that's "catching from air", although a different image than what I thought you were saying.

[@inifinitecorners]

@@L4JP Yes, the tweet was about Super Heavy but looking at recovery of a falcon 9, it gives a general idea why Elon said what he said.

[@jackdaniels8898]

Thanks for the video. Are there any videos or websites that walk through the refurbishing of the booster in the hanger? How long it takes etc.?

[@ForestvilleOppa]

So @6:15 is this the last time the legs are actuated before re-flight?

[@JakeBiddlecome]

I'd love to know the full inspection/replacement routine back at the factory. What are they checking for after one of these has flown 6 or 7 times? Surely some parts have to be replaced or cleaned at the very least. Also, it amazes me the whole F9 doesn't break in half when they lay it down. Those walls are pretty thin!

[@timlockwood_]

Where does the remaining fuel go? They don't move the booster with fuel in it, do they?

[@dryroasted5599]

I like how just before they lift it, those guys are holding on to the Falcon like they'll stop it if it swings. Also, does that lifting cap have its own autonomous power source to lower and raise the cables?

[@sidguernsey1393]

Nice video, good job