JCSAT-14

JCSAT-14, a communications satellite for Japan's SKY Perfect JSAT Group, rode a Falcon 9 Full Thrust into geostationary transfer orbit on 6 May 2016. GTO missions consume nearly all the rocket's performance margin, leaving little propellant for the booster's return — and the higher reentry velocity subjects the stage to extreme thermal loads that had previously led SpaceX to classify GTO recoveries as experimental. No GTO launch had returned its booster before this one.

The first stage landed on Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic regardless, the third successful drone ship landing overall. The thermal stress was severe enough that the stage was retained for ground testing as a reference vehicle rather than being reflown — but the principle had been demonstrated: recovery from a GTO mission was possible.