Falcon 9 surpasses 700 launches

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has completed more than 700 launches since its first flight in 2010. The mission that reached this number was Starlink 15-16, which was held on October 27. Moreover, Starlink 15-18, the 701st launch, took place on October 31.

Thus, the Falcon 9 family became the first rocket to achieve so many missions. Elon Musk also shared a message on X. He also thanked the team directly in the message: "Congratulations to the SpaceX team for more than 700 flights with the Falcon 9."

How Have the Economics of Rocket Launching Changed?

SpaceX has transformed the reuse of booster rockets from an experimental technology to commonplace practice. In the past, preparations for a launch could take months or even years. Now Falcon 9 takes off every few days.

Being able to bring back and reuse the first stage significantly increased the company's flight frequency. The first stage is the first and largest part of the rocket to fire. Therefore, it does not need to be reproduced in every mission.

In addition, the economics of space transportation have also changed. Because the largest part of the rocket is no longer disposable. Therefore, while the number of launches increased, the operation of the process also moved to a different point.

Milestones of Falcon 9

The history of the rocket dates back to several important moments. First of all, looking at these dates makes it easier to understand how we got to 700 launches. Here are the highlights:

June 2010: First launch took place.

December 2015: The rocket landed the first stage on a land pad for the first time.

April 2016: The first stage landed on the sea platform this time.

March 2017: SpaceX reused a previously flown orbital stage for the first time.

May 2020: NASA astronauts were transported into orbit with the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission.

The Demo-2 mission also broke new ground. This mission was the first manned launch from US soil after 2011. Therefore, Falcon 9 not only carried satellites, but also entered the business of carrying astronauts.

On the other hand, the land landing in 2015 and the sea platform landing in 2016 formed the basis for reuse. Then, in 2017, a previously flown stage was reused. When these steps are listed, it becomes clear that the number of launches exceeding 700 is not a coincidence.

The next step is clear: The 701st launch with Starlink 15-18 was completed on October 31, and the number of flights of Falcon 9 continues to increase.