SpaceX Launches and lands its fourth Falcon 9 first stage.

 On Friday May 27, 2016 SpaceX performed the trifecta with its successful landing of the Thaicom 8 Falcon 9 -0025 S1 Booster on the Automated Spaceport Drone Ship " Of Course I still Love you ". Lifting off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Airforce Station at 5:39 p.m. (9:39 UTC) and lofting its payload the THAICOM 8 satellite, a commercial communications satellite built by Orbital ATK into a transfer orbit.

 Its mission is to provide Ku-band communications coverage for South Asia and Southeast Asia. The satellite will be delivered to a supersynchronous transfer orbit that will later be reduced by the satellite to an approximately 35,800 kilometers circular geostationary orbit. THAICOM 8 will be the fifth operational satellite for Thaicom. When THAICOM 8 launches, it will strengthen Thaicom's broadcast platform at 78.5 degrees east longitude – providing South Asia and Southeast Asia with broadcast and data services. The spacecraft is about 3,000 kg and has an operational design life of 15 years.

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Upon the successful landing aboard the ASDS, the F9-025-S1 Booster sustained the close to the design max threshold for landing. The contingency crush core is aluminum honeycomb for energy absorption in the telescoping actuator. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated that this is easy to replace (if Falcon makes it back to port). According to SpaceX sources this was a experimental 1-3-1 hot fire re-entry burn. Where the S1 initial re-entry burn starts with 1 Merlin D engine, then the 2nd burn uses 3 Merlin D engines like used on the JCSAT-14. then the final landing burn is back to 1 Merlin D engine. (Has not been confirmed by SpaceX.) You can see the sped up video of the Thaicom 8 S1 landing taken from the onboard camera below from the official SpaceX Youtube channel.

As you can see with the pictures below that the F9-025-S1 moved across the surface of the ASDS. This was not where she landed on May 27, 2016. 2 days prior to her return the ships all stopped without given reason. and In my humble educated opinion this is where they stopped to secure her so they did not lose the Thaicom 8 S1. And you can see in the photos I have taken the F9-025-S1 is at a 5.5 degree lean towards the west. Can't wait to hear all the data that comes from the follow up. Stay tuned.

Photo Credits: 2016 Keltisch Wolf Services LLC