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SpaceX nails another droneship landing

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

On April 8, 2016, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the CRS-8 Dragon cargo mission to the International Space Station. After launch, the first stage flew back and landed upright on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You,” stationed about 185 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral, roughly eight and a half minutes after liftoff. It was SpaceX's first successful landing on an autonomous spaceport drone ship.

SpaceX wants to recover and reuse boosters to cut launch costs. At the time, a new Falcon 9 first stage cost about $60 million, while the propellant cost was only about $200,000 to $300,000. Ocean landings require less fuel than returning all the way to land, making them the only recovery option for many heavier missions.

Falcon 9's first stage successfully landed on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You.” The first successful landing on that ship was April 8, 2016, during the CRS-8 cargo mission to the International Space Station.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 first stage landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship. This matches the documented April 8, 2016 CRS-8 landing off Florida, the first successful landing on that drone ship.

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What the hosts said

CSpaceX just posted a clip of a Falcon 9 first stage landing on a drone ship called Of Course I Still Love You.
MAnd Elon's entire response was the name of the ship. Five words.
CWhich is very him. The video is the news.
MSo the booster set down on an autonomous barge in the Atlantic, not on land.
CRight. Less fuel needed for the return. That's why they use the ship.
MFirst time they stuck that landing was April 8, 2016. This ship has been at it a while.
CAnd SpaceX hasn't stopped since. It's now basically routine.
MRoutine is exactly my problem. Why is this a story tonight? They've done it dozens of times.
CBecause routine reusability was the whole impossible goal! Before this, rockets were thrown away after one flight.
MBut the post doesn't even say which mission this was, or what the booster was carrying. It's just the landing.
CThat's the point. The landing is the product now. It used to be the miracle.
MOkay, but cut through the hype. The numbers still matter.
CFine. A new first stage back then cost about sixty million. Fuel was a few hundred thousand.
MThat's the cost argument. Recovery only makes sense if refurbishment stays cheap.
CAnd they've proven it can. That's why everyone else is chasing it.
MNot everyone. Blue Origin is still trying to get New Glenn back, and that's its own mess.
CI won't pile on.
MFine. But my point stands: this is a victory lap, not breaking news.
CIt's a reminder that the technology works and it's still impressive. I'll take the victory lap.
MFair. The ship's name is also a better love story than most Hollywood scripts.
COf Course I Still Love You is a Culture novel reference. It's perfect for a robot boat.
MWait, you know Iain M. Banks? I'm surprised.
CEngineer, remember? We read books too.

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