SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage B1077.28 responsible for the SpaceX Jellyfish formation launch on May 21, 2026 at sunrise on Starlink 10-31 mission – has arrived back in Port Canaveral on May 23 atop the ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ or ASOG droneship – upon which it landed after liftoff. Credit: Ken Kremer / SpaceUpClose.com
PORT CANAVERAL/TITUSVILLE, FL- Two days after a beautiful sunrise blastoff that caused the formation of an undulating space jellyfish high in the skies over the Florida Space Coast, the veteran and scorched first stage that propelled that Starlink mission to orbit on May 21, has arrived back into Port Canaveral
SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage B1077.28 responsible for the SpaceX Jellyfish formation launch on May 21, 2026 at sunrise on Starlink 10-31 mission – has arrived back in Port Canaveral on May 23 atop the ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ or ASOG droneship – upon which it landed after liftoff. Credit: Ken Kremer / SpaceUpClose.com
See our photos taken on May 23 across from the North Cargo pier 6 where the 15 story tall Falcon 9 first stage B1077.28 is standing vertical berthed after flying to space 28 times and back.
The B1077.28 booster has been craned off the ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ or ASOG droneship – upon which it landed about 400 miles downrange off the coast of the Carolinas in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes after May 21 liftoff
The 4 landing legs are seen fully deployed
SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage B1077.28 responsible for the SpaceX Jellyfish formation launch on May 21, 2026 at sunrise on Starlink 10-31 mission – has arrived back in Port Canaveral on May 23 atop the ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ or ASOG droneship – upon which it landed after liftoff. Credit: Ken Kremer / SpaceUpClose.com
Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 on the Starlink 10-31 mission took place at 6:04 a.m. ET (1004 UTC) on May 21 from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL.
SpaceX Jellyfish with stage separation: SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoff on the Starlink 10-31 mission at 6:04 a.m. ET (1004 UTC) on May 21 from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL. A SpaceX jellyfish forms over the Florida Space Coast skies during ascent to orbit. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
The rocket traveled on a northeasterly trajectory after pre-sunrise blastoff from pad 40
SpaceX Jellyfish with stage separation: SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoff on the Starlink 10-31 mission at 6:04 a.m. ET (1004 UTC) on May 21 from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL. A SpaceX jellyfish forms over the Florida Space Coast skies during ascent to orbit. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com
Enjoy our photos of the May 21 launch and May 23 docking taken by Ken Kremer for Space UpClose.
SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage B1077.28 responsible for the SpaceX Jellyfish formation launch on May 21, 2026 at sunrise on Starlink 10-31 mission – has arrived back in Port Canaveral on May 23 atop the ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ or ASOG droneship – upon which it landed after liftoff. Credit: Ken Kremer / SpaceUpClose.com
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news. Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics. Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events.
TITUSVILLE, FL – A spectacular SpaceX Jellyfish formed high in the skies over the Space Coast soon after the launch of another batch of Starlink broadband internet satellites just before sunrise on Thursday, May 21. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 on the Starlink 10-31 mission took place at 6:04 a.m. ET (1004 UTC) on May 21 from Space Launch
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