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Of Course I Still Love You

Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS) · SpaceX

Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) is SpaceX's West Coast drone ship, stationed at Long Beach, California. It holds the historic distinction of being the platform for SpaceX's first-ever successful drone ship landing in April 2016 during the CRS-8 mission — a milestone that fundamentally changed the economics of space launch.

Specifications

OperatorSpaceX
TypeAutonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS)
Status● Active
Home PortPort of Long Beach, California
CoastWest Coast (Pacific)
Length91m (300ft)
Beam52m (170ft)
Built / Acquired2015
Name OriginNamed after a General Systems Vehicle from Iain M. Banks' Culture novel "The Player of Games"
Associated VehiclesFalcon 9 Block 5

Overview

OCISLY was the second drone ship SpaceX built (after the original, smaller Just Read the Instructions). The vessel's first landing attempt in January 2015 came agonisingly close but ended with the booster toppling on deck. After several more attempts, the breakthrough came on 8 April 2016 when a Falcon 9 carrying a Cargo Dragon for the CRS-8 ISS resupply mission stuck the landing — proving that orbital-class rockets could be recovered at sea.

Today OCISLY serves as the sole drone ship for Vandenberg Space Force Base missions, primarily supporting polar and sun-synchronous orbit launches for national security and Earth observation payloads. These missions fly south from Vandenberg over the Pacific, with OCISLY positioned several hundred kilometres downrange.

Key Features

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