posted 12-26-2023 02:00 PM               

History-making SpaceX Falcon 9 booster mostly destroyed in post-flight topple

The first U.S. commercial rocket to launch astronauts into orbit has met its end after being destroyed during its latest post-flight recovery.

Referred to by SpaceX by its serial number, B1058, the Falcon 9 first stage was being transported back to shore after its record-setting 19th flight when "the booster tipped over "due to high winds and waves," the company reported on X, the social network previously known as Twitter, on Sunday (Dec. 25). Two days earlier, the stage had helped launch 23 of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites before successfully touching down on the company's droneship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida.

posted 01-03-2024 11:47 AM               

"For Bob and I, that particular booster was always pretty special for a lot of reasons."

"I think, at this point, certainly Endeavour is going to fly more, but this booster isn't, so hopefully they can find a spot to display it somewhere. Even part of it would look kind of cool somewhere. They could figure something out ... People, I think, can get a lot of inspiration from seeing stuff that's actually flown in space, and being able to get right up close to it, I think, is a big deal to a lot of people."