![]() ![]() įalcon 9 first-stage boosters landed successfully in 218 of 229 attempts ( 95.2%), with 188 out of 193 ( 97.4%) for the Falcon 9 Block 5 version. 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. While the Block 4 boosters were only flown twice and required several months of refurbishment, Block 5 versions are designed to sustain 10 flights with just some inspections. The latest Full Thrust variant, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018. 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 226 times from December 2015 to present. The previous record was held by Soyuz-U, which had 47 launches (45 successful) in 1979. In 2022 Falcon 9 set a new record of 60 launches (all successful) by the same launch vehicle type in a calendar year. The active version, Falcon 9 Block 5, has flown 190 missions, all full successes. Additionally, one rocket and its payload AMOS-6 were destroyed before launch in preparation for an on-pad static fire test. Rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 253 times over 13 years, resulting in 251 full mission successes ( 99.2%), 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), and one full failure (the SpaceX CRS-7 spacecraft was lost in flight in an explosion). Launches to higher orbits have included the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) probe to the Sun–Earth Lagrange point L 1, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space telescope on a lunar flyby trajectory, the Falcon Heavy test flight which launched Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster into a heliocentric orbit extending beyond the orbit of Mars, Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) into the minor-planet moon Dimorphos of the double asteroid Didymos and Euclid space telescope to the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L 2. The heaviest payload launched to a geostationary orbit (GEO) was Jupiter 3 ( EchoStar-24) with 9,200 kg (20,300 lb) on 29 July 2023. 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) starting from 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 218 times in 229 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 253 times, with 251 full mission successes, one partial failure and one total loss of the spacecraft. ![]() Left to right: Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, v1.2 "Full Thrust", Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy, and Falcon Heavy Block 5. ![]()
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