Elon Musk and SpaceX are known for boasting of their rocket’s wide reusability, and while the company can walk their talk, a recent Falcon 9 launch toward orbit validates their claims with a record-breaking success. This is because one specific Falcon 9 rocket has flown to orbit 24 times already, and while this number seems low for the frequenting spacecraft, it is only for one specific rocket model.
It is the first Falcon 9 first-stage booster which achieved a record number of 24 flights since it started flying missions over three years ago, with this specific rocket still expected to launch future missions.
SpaceX Falcon 9 B1067 Sets New Record of 24 Flights
A recent Starlink mission from SpaceX took place in Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the company’s Falcon 9 first-stage booster lifted off to bring a batch of 24 satellite internet to orbit. However, this is not SpaceX’s ordinary flight for the Falcon 9, particularly as the specific rocket model under the Falcon 9 lineup flew for its 24th time last Wednesday.
This was a historic moment for SpaceX as this Falcon 9, with the model number B1067, has already flown 24 flights in its lifetime since it was first used by the company for a mission back in June 2021.
B1067 also saw a smooth descent after it deployed its Starlink payload, landing without a hitch on the ‘Of Course I Love You’ droneship which awaited the first-stage booster on the coast of Florida. Despite its record number of flights, the B1067 Falcon 9 booster is not yet retiring as after its checking and works, it will be up for its 25th flight.
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SpaceX Demonstrates Wide Reusability for Falcon 9
According to SpaceX, the specific B1067 booster is its testament to the wide reusability of its rockets, centering on its mission to frequent space with rockets that may be utilized after missions. SpaceX also touted B1067’s previous missions including CRS-22, CRS-25, Crew 3, Crew 4, TelkomSat-113BT, Turksat-5B, Koreasat-6A, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F2, Galileo L13, mPOWER-A, PSN MFS, and 13 Starlink missions, all totaling to 24 flights.
Falcon 9’s Record-Breaking Feats
SpaceX and Elon Musk may be all about the Starship program as its future, with the Stainless Steel rocket soon making life multi-planetary and bringing humans farther than previous missions. However, it is not yet making a name for itself unlike what SpaceX did with the trusty Falcon 9, best known for being the company’s workhorse over the years and fulfilling its astronaut launches to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Crew.
There are multiple Falcon 9 first-stage rockets at SpaceX’s disposal, and this allowed the company to fulfill numerous flights in a year, as well as notable back-to-back missions like its most recent launches in Florida and California. In 2022, SpaceX used its Falcon 9 rocket to fly a total of 14 successive flights, making a new record feat, and in the same year, it also delivered a total of 143 satellites in only one launch.
Last year, SpaceX touted that its Falcon 9 booster rocket can fly twice as much compared to its previous capabilities, offering upgrades to the first-stage machine to deliver payloads to orbit and other types of missions. Now, SpaceX is touting the rocket’s reusability again by launching the B1067 a total of 24 times in its lifetime, this makes it the first Falcon 9 rocket to do so in history, and soon, attempt to fly its 25th mission.
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