Editor’s Note: Corrects image attached to the story to reflect SpaceX droneship
SpaceX’s drone ship Just Read the Instructions has returned to Port Canaveral with a Falcon 9 booster for the last time. This marks the end of an era for the company’s booster recovery operations on the East Coast.
The drone ship, which has supported 156 Falcon 9 landings since 2015, will now focus on recovering the massive Starship rocket, expected to launch from Florida in the near future. With only one drone ship left to handle Falcon 9 recoveries, questions have arisen about how SpaceX will support its frequent launches from Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX has been using drone ships to recover boosters at sea since 2015 and has also been landing boosters at Cape Canaveral landing zones since 2016.
Here’s what you need to know about this transition:
What happened?
*Just Read the Instructions* returned to Port Canaveral with the first stage booster from the April 21 launch of the GPS III mission. According to SpaceX, this was the last time the drone ship would carry a Falcon 9 booster.
The drone ship will now prepare to support Starship operations, which are expected to begin in Florida soon.
What’s next for Falcon 9 recoveries?
With only one drone ship now in operation, SpaceX will rely on *A Shortfall of Gravitas* to recover Falcon 9 boosters from Florida launches. The company can also return boosters to the Cape Canaveral landing sites, which creates a sonic boom that may become more frequent in the area.
Why the change?
The transition is part of SpaceX’s preparations for the Starship launch system, which is expected to launch from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A in the near future. The launch site is almost complete, and work at Launch Complex 37 in Cape Canaveral is underway.
What does this mean for launches?
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 made up 101 out of the 109 launches out of Florida in 2025. The company currently only has Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, having paused Falcon 9 launches from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A earlier this year.
What about Starship?
Starship is expected to launch from Florida by the end of the year. The “Just Read the Instructions” and another new drone ship titled “You’ll Thank Me Later” will transport Super Heavy booster and Starships from Starbase, Texas to Cape Canaveral.
Starship/Super Heavy has been tapped by NASA to support its Artemis return to the moon. SpaceX will provide the Starship Human Landings System, which will alternate Artemis missions with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark II lander.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX drone ship retires, what it means for launches
Reporting by Brooke Edwards, Florida Today / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
