The heaviest payload launched to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) was Intelsat 35e with 6,761 kg (14,905 lb). The heaviest payload launched to LEO is a batch of 56 Starlink v1.5 satellites weighing a total of around 17,400 kg (38,400 lb) on 26 January 2023. A total of 38 boosters have flown multiple missions, with a record of 16 missions by the same booster.įalcon 9's typical missions include cargo delivery and crewed flights to the International Space Station (ISS) with the Dragon and Dragon 2 capsules, launch of communications satellites and Earth observation satellites to geostationary transfer orbits (GTO), and low Earth orbits (LEO), some of them at a polar inclination. Falcon family core boosters have successfully landed 209 times in 220 attempts. This reusability has resulted in significantly reduced launch costs. In December 2015, Falcon 9 became the first rocket to land propulsively after delivering a payload into orbit. The Falcon design features reusable first-stage boosters, which land either on a ground pad near the launch site or on a drone ship at sea. Falcon Heavy is a heavy-lift derivative of Falcon 9, combining a strengthened central core with two Falcon 9 first stages as the side boosters. In addition, one rocket and its payload were destroyed on the launch pad during the fueling process before a static fire test was set to occur.ĭesigned and operated by private manufacturer SpaceX, the Falcon 9 rocket family includes the retired versions Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, and v1.2 "Full Thrust" Block 1 to 4, along with the active Block 5 evolution. Since June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 247 times, with 245 full mission successes, one partial failure and one total loss of the spacecraft. ULA has the “SMART reuse” for their upcoming Vulcan rocket and Rocketlab will be implementing booster recovery and reuse for their Electron rocket soon.Left to right: Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, v1.2 "Full Thrust", Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy, and Falcon Heavy Block 5. This is far off from the two flights that SpaceX claims they need, but even so, SpaceX recently achieved their first 10th flight of a booster.Įven with these challenges, more rocket companies are quickly moving towards reuse. According to Tory Bruno’s estimate, they would need to fly a booster 10 times in order for it to be financially justified. Reusing a rocket includes an inherent risk of failure, especially on a first attempt. ULA, on the other hand, tends to work slower and more conservatively in an attempt to ensure success and at the first launch. SpaceX will take many risks and fail many times over in order to develop and progress quickly just look at Starship. SpaceX also follows a far different design and testing philosophy from companies like ULA. Any fuel that needs to be used for landing is then not able to be used to accelerate the payloads. Reusing boosters also decrease the payload to orbit of a rocket. SpaceX has an array of chartered vessels to safely return boosters, fairings, and Dragon capsules back to port which all cost money. There is an added degree of complexity that comes with the reuse of boosters. Reusing boosters is expensive and potentially risky. Why don’t other rocket companies reuse their boosters?
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