News
SpaceX shows off first reused Falcon 9 Block 5 landing on drone ship OCISLY
For the second time in a year (356 days to be exact), SpaceX has published a photo of a Falcon 9 booster recovery aboard one of its autonomous spaceport drone ships (ASDS), in this case showing the first reused Block 5 rocket just prior to landing on the Florida-based drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” (OCISLY).
SpaceX published the last routine drone ship rocket recovery photos all the way back in August 2017, following the successful West Coast launch of the Formosat-5 imaging satellite. Prior to Formosat-5, SpaceX regularly routinely posted photos from their West and East Coast drone ships alongside the launch photos they have shared after every launch the company has ever conducted, only once skipping landing photos for the slightly off-nominal drone ship recovery after Falcon 9’s launch of BulgariaSat-1.
-
- After launching SES-10 in March 2017, the Falcon 9 first stage was recovered for a second time aboard the drone ship OCISLY. (SpaceX)
-
- Iridium-2’s June 2017 launch saw the first Falcon 9 flight debut of titanium grid fins. (SpaceX)
-
- Falcon 9 lands on drone ship JRTI after launching Formosat-5, August 2017. (SpaceX)
Adding additional intrigue to the abrupt year-long drought of drone ship landing photos, SpaceX continued to publish official launch photos for all missions and posted at least one or two images of booster recovery whenever the mission allowed for a return to launch site (RTLS) landing at the company’s Cape Canaveral Landing Zone-1 (LZ-1). More recently, SpaceX did publish a similar snippet from B1046’s first drone ship landing back in May 2018.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi5AT1mFhDM/
Given the experimental nature of most drone ship booster recoveries in 2016, 2017, and even 2018, there is little doubt that SpaceX has continued to capture extensive video and photos of drone ship landings, just as the company does during launch with arrays of dozens of cameras inside the rocket and throughout their launch facilities. Why official drone ship photos stopped will likely remain a mystery, but there are several obvious possibilities ranging from an internal undercurrent of concern that the camera views might give away too much proprietary detail to potential competitors to a much more mundane conclusion that the company’s energy would be best directed elsewhere.
Falcon 9 lands on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship and returns to port after delivering the Merah Putih satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit. This mission marked the first re-flight of a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket booster. https://t.co/dkeXxPZmlq pic.twitter.com/4l3vmIBLyM
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 15, 2018
-
None of the obvious explanations are very convincing or satisfying. However, the most important thing here is to remember that SpaceX is by no means required to make anything public, including the company’s live launch coverage, official photos, factory and facility information, activity updates, and even providing press access to launches to set up their own remote cameras. Although many of those dramatically improve the company’s public perception and bolster its standing among typically tight-lipped competitors, none of it is guaranteed to last forever.
Regardless, I and (presumably) the entire spaceflight fan community will be crossing our fingers and hoping that the year-long drought of Falcon 9 drone ship landing photos has at long last come to an end.
For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!
Elon Musk shed two new bits of detail on Starship following its 13th test launch, which was an overwhelming success.
SpaceX launched Starship for the 13th time last Friday after two delays: one on Monday when several Raptor engines did not ignite, and another on Thursday due to unfavorable weather conditions in Starbase, Texas.
The launch was overwhelmingly successful. SpaceX was able to complete a necessary test of the heat shield tiles by increasing the acceleration of Starship from launch throughout the flight; 20 Starlink v3 satellites were released with no issue; the Super Heavy Booster landed safely in the Gulf of America, Ship successfully reignited engines while in space; and it also splashed down without incident in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
Nevertheless, more details are coming out about Starship, and Musk is doing the talking.
Starship Will Be Retrieved in the Ocean
Musk revealed on Tuesday night that Starship would be recovered by a ship in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX routinely tries to recover Starship after splashdown in an effort to find out more about the flight by examining the spacecraft afterward.
We’re sending a ship out to recover Starship https://t.co/fUqUZTITO9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2026
-
This helps engineers find out more about why things might have happened, allows them to examine any potential damage or anomalies that might have occurred, and increases the chances of an even more successful flight next time thanks to the additional information recovered.
Ship Could Have Been Caught by Tower Arms, Musk claims
Musk has already indicated that SpaceX will plan to attempt a catch of Starship with the 14th test flight. While this would be a major accomplishment, it would be an expected next step, considering the fact that the Super Heavy Booster has already been caught by the chopsticks on numerous occasions.
The ship landing was precise, meaning that it would have been caught by the tower arms https://t.co/6nbNrRfX9P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
A ship catch would be a great indication of where SpaceX stands in terms of reusability and launch cadence. A successful catch with relatively no incidents would be a good sign that SpaceX is nearing a more frequent launch of Starship, but also that the reusability of the massive rocket would be something many would expect in the near future.
It is a necessity to make life multiplanetary.
-
Elon Musk has updated his timeline for when humans will walk on Mars and for when ships will simply get there.
The objective of getting to Mars has been one of Musk’s biggest goals since becoming a serial entrepreneur and realizing that time on Earth is limited. Musk has said several times he hopes to die on Mars, and not by impact.
Musk now believes that people will be on Mars in “roughly 5 to 7 years.” He said that a Mars lander will get there “a few years sooner.”
People on Mars in roughly 5 to 7 years.
Mars lander a few years sooner.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
The response from Musk comes after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that SpaceX’s biggest priority is the Moon and not Mars. Because of this, Isaacman conceded that he believes nuclear power and propulsion investments will provide “potentially the pathway with the fewest miracles required to put four people on Mars in the next 10 to 15 years.”
-
Of course, this is what NASA can do through taxpayer funding and nuclear investments, he added.
Musk’s grand ambitions are much more optimistic than most, and it is certainly a double-edged sword. This is not the first time timelines for Mars have been somewhat lofty, especially to those normal thinkers like you and me, not super geniuses like Musk.
In fact, the SpaceX and Tesla frontman has said on at least a dozen occasions that we could be on Mars in the coming years. Musk said 2020 would be the big year as early as 2009. In 2020, he was “highly confident” of a landing in 2026, and had even said 2024 in a best-case scenario.
The point is, the range has varied, and it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll get there. This latest adjustment to the timeline is typical of Musk, and while the Moon has seemingly taken priority over Mars, it is still worth mentioning that the ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary, and it starts potentially with the Red Planet.
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) got an absolutely crazy price target rating from Raymond James after the company experienced a tough first few weeks following its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Despite the tumultuous start, SpaceX has plenty of believers, and the company’s massively successful Starship launch last Friday, its 13th test flight of the massive rocket, went so smoothly that Raymond James analysts pushed its price target on the company to roughly 7 times its current trading level.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The firm officially put a “Strong Buy” rating and an $800 price target on the stock. It currently trades at around $113. Its all-time high is $225.64, reaching this trading level shortly after shares first went public.
Raymond James’ price target is tied to the firm’s confidence after Starship’s 13th test flight. Analysts at the firm said it was an incremental step that reduces engineering risks, citing the widely successful heat shield test that CEO Elon Musk recently detailed, the smooth deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, and a successful in-space engine relight.
SpaceX also managed to see Starship splash down safely in the Indian Ocean, while the Super Heavy Booster fell down to the Gulf of America with no incidents.
It is interesting to see these launches have such a tremendous impact on the stock and what investors think of it. After SpaceX initially delayed the Starship launch last week, shares fell tremendously. Most probably did not realize that the stand-down is a standard practice, especially if everything is not perfect.
-
The mission was initially aborted due to an issue with Raptor engines. This was resolved, and Starship launched last Friday after another delay on Thursday, which was caused by weather.
Now that analysts have seen what SpaceX launches are capable of and how impressive the feat is, firms are adjusting their price targets accordingly, making it known that they have high expectations for the space exploration company.
Elon Musk sheds two new bits of detail on Starship after 13th test launch
Elon Musk updates the SpaceX timeline for Mars
