WASHINGTON: The deck barge Marmac 300 (CG No. 1063184) was built in 1998 by Gulf Coast Fabrication in Pearlington, Mississippi for McDonough Marine Service, a tug and barge company based in Metairie, Louisiana. As built, it was 288 feet in length, with a 100 foot beam and a depth of almost 20 feet.
In 2014, it was chartered by SpaceX for use as a landing pad for returning first-stage rockets after launching objects into orbit. The upper deck of the Marmac 300 was extended to a length of 300 feet and the width was extended to 170 feet.
Azimuthing thrusters with modular diesel-hydraulic-drive power units and a modular controller manufactured by Thrustmaster were installed, with one thruster on each corner of the barge. The thrusters may be operated autonomously or by remote control from a nearby service vessel. The barge itself though is unmanned. With an onboard electronic navigation system, the barge is capable of precision positioning in either the autonomous or remote control mode.
The barge is currently based in Jacksonville, Florida. The first and, to date, only rocket landing test was conducted in the North Atlantic 200 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral and 165 miles southeast of Charleston.
The test occurred on 10 January 2015 after the launch of the Falcon 9 Flight 14 of an International Space Station resupply cargo craft from Cape Canaveral. A controlled descent of the first stage was conducted after it successfully separated from the second stage at an altitude of approximately 50 miles. As the 140-foot long rocket stage descended, four grid fin control surfaces were extended to allow for precise maneuvering and legs provided a stable base sixty feet in diameter for the rocket upon landing on the barge.
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