drone ship
Floating rocket platform
A drone ship is an autonomous or remotely operated maritime vessel, typically an unpiloted barge used as a landing platform for reusable rockets.
SpaceX popularized the term with its ocean-going platforms that catch returning rocket boosters: The Falcon 9 first stage landed successfully on the drone ship.
The term also applies to unmanned cargo or military vessels.
- unmannedHaving no human aboard
- autonomousSelf-directed and free
- landingDescent's final moment
- SpaceXPrivate rocket manufacturer
- bargeFlat freight vessel
platform · rocket · ocean · recovery · Falcon · booster · first stage · sea · vessel · floating · reusable · vertical landing · soft landing · touchdown · controlled descent · guidance · naval · surveillance
drone shiplaunchpad
Rocket departure platform
launch complex · landing pad · launch pad · Cape Canaveral · Kennedy Space Center
drone, ship, drones, droned, droning, ships, shipped, shipping, shipment