Launch statistics edit
Rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 342 times over 14 years, resulting in 340 full successes (99.4%), one in-flight failure (SpaceX CRS-7), and one partial success (SpaceX CRS-1 delivered its cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), but a secondary payload was stranded in a lower-than-planned orbit). Additionally, one rocket and its payload AMOS-6 were destroyed before launch in preparation for an on-pad static fire test. The active version, Falcon 9 Block 5, has flown 277 missions, all full successes.
In 2022 Falcon 9 set a new record of 60 launches (all successful) by the same launch vehicle type in a calendar year. The previous record was held by Soyuz-U, which had 47 launches (45 successful) in 1979.[1] In 2023 Falcon 9 family set a new record of 96 launches (all successful) by the same launch vehicle family in a calendar year. The previous record was held by R-7 rocket family, which had 63 launches (61 successful) in 1980.[a][2]
The first rocket version Falcon 9 v1.0 was launched five times from June 2010 to March 2013, its successor Falcon 9 v1.1 15 times from September 2013 to January 2016, and the Falcon 9 Full Thrust 313 times from December 2015 to present. The latest Full Thrust variant, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018.[3] While the Block 4 boosters were only flown twice and required several months of refurbishment, Block 5 versions were certified to sustain 10 flights and have since been recertified for 15 and then 20 flights per booster.[4] SpaceX is currently planning to further increase the Falcon re-flight certification to 40 flights per booster, once 20 flights is reached.[5]
The Falcon Heavy derivative consists of a strengthened Falcon 9 first stage as its center core, with two additional Falcon 9 first stages attached and used as boosters, both of which are fitted with an aerodynamic nosecone instead of a usual Falcon 9 interstage.[6]
Falcon 9 first-stage boosters landed successfully in 306 of 317 attempts (96.5%), with 281 out of 285 (98.6%) for the Falcon 9 Block 5 version. A total of 279 re-flights of first stage boosters have all successfully launched their payloads.
Rocket configurations edit
- Falcon 9 v1.0
- Falcon 9 v1.1
- Falcon 9 Full Thrust
- Falcon 9 FT (reused)
- Falcon 9 Block 5 (new)
- Falcon 9 Block 5 (reused)
- Falcon Heavy
Launch sites edit
Launch outcomes edit
- Loss before launch
- Loss during flight
- Partial failure
- Success (commercial and government)
- Success (Starlink)
- Planned (commercial and government)
- Planned (Starlink)
Booster landings edit
- ^ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (October 20, 2022). "Congrats to @SpaceX team on 48th launch this year! Falcon 9 now holds record for most launches of a single vehicle type in a year" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Will Robinson-Smith (13 January 2024). "SpaceX launches Falcon 9 launch following Saturday night scrub". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ "SpaceX debuts new model of the Falcon 9 rocket designed for astronauts". Spaceflightnow.com. 11 May 2018. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ Baylor, Michael (17 May 2018). "With Block 5, SpaceX to increase launch cadence and lower prices". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ "In 2023, SpaceX completed 96 successful missions, safely flew 12 more astronauts to orbit, launched two flight tests of Starship, and more than doubled the number of people around the world connected by @Starlink. Watch @elonmusk deliver a company update". X (formerly Twitter).
- ^ Jeff Foust (29 September 2017). "Musk unveils revised version of giant interplanetary launch system Archived 8 October 2017 at Archive-It". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).