Sunrise at the port: welcoming home Falcon 9 booster B1060.2
The twice-flown, twice-recovered Falcon 9 booster B1060.2 arrives at the mouth of Port Canaveral on Sunday, September 6, 2020, secure aboard “Of Course I Still Love You”, the SpaceX drone ship. Credit: Theresa Cross, SpaceFlight Insider
It was a beautiful morning on the Space Coast of Florida as many gathered to watch another SpaceX first stage make its way into Port Canaveral.
Spectators gather at the mouth of Port Canaveral early in the morning of Sunday, September 6, 2020, as the SpaceX booster B1060.2 approaches harbour. Credit: Theresa Cross, SpaceFlight Insider
Arriving at the Cape early on Sunday, September 6, 2020, B1060.2 is fresh off its second mission which launched from LC-39A earlier in the week. B1060 first flew as primary thrust for a GPS lll launch earlier this year, a successful mission by the Falcon 9 rocket to launch GPS III SV03, the third Lockheed Martin Block III Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite, into space. During its most recent flight, B1060.2 completed the twelfth insertion of satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.
Following Thursday’s successful launch, the Falcon 9’s first stage successfully landed on SpaceX’s drone ship, “Of Course I Still Love You”, or OCISLY, positioned in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Carolinas, prior to the 3 day sailing back to Cape Canaveral and a future refurbishment by SpaceX.
Sitting proud and covered with the sooty marks of two successful orbital launch missions, SpaceX booster B1060.2 entered Port Canaveral on Sunday, September 6, 2020. Credit: Theresa Cross, SpaceFlight Insider
Theresa Cross
Theresa Cross grew up on the Space Coast. It’s only natural that she would develop a passion for anything “Space” and its exploration. During these formative years, she also discovered that she possessed a talent and love for defining the unique quirks and intricacies that exist in mankind, nature, and machines. Hailing from a family of photographers—including her father and her son, Theresa herself started documenting her world through pictures at a very early age. As an adult, she now exhibits an innate photographic ability to combine what appeals to her heart and her love of technology to deliver a diversified approach to her work and artistic presentations. Theresa has a background in water chemistry, fluid dynamics, and industrial utility.
