- Summary
- Launch statistics
- Past launches
- Future launches
-
Notable launches
- First flight of Falcon 9
- COTS demo missions
- CRS-1
- Maiden flight of v1.1
- Loss of CRS-7 mission
- Full-thrust version and first booster landings
- Loss of Amos-6 on the launch pad
- First launch of a refurbished first stage
- Zuma
- Falcon Heavy test flight
- Booster reflight records
- First flight of Crew Dragon
- First crewed flight
- See also
- Notes
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches 
Summary
Left to right: Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, v1.2 "Full Thrust", Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy, and Falcon Heavy Block 5.
Since June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 91 times, with 89 full mission successes, one partial failure and one total loss of spacecraft (numbers current as of 1 July 2020). In addition, one rocket and its payload were destroyed on the launch pad in the fueling process before a static fire test.
Designed 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", along with the currently active Block 5 evolution. Falcon Heavy is a heavy-lift derivative of Falcon 9, combining a strengthened central core with two Falcon 9 first stages as side boosters.[1]
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.[2] In December 2015, Falcon 9 became the first rocket to land propulsively after delivering a payload to orbit.[3] This achievement is expected to significantly reduce launch costs.[4] Falcon family core boosters have successfully landed 55 times in 65 attempts. A total of 23 boosters have flown a second mission, including two pairs as Falcon Heavy side-boosters, six boosters have gone on to fly a third mission, five boosters have flown a fourth mission and two have flown five times.[5]
Falcon 9's typical missions include cargo delivery to the International Space Station (ISS) with the Dragon capsule, launch of communications satellites and Earth observation satellites to geostationary transfer orbits (GTO), and low-Earth orbits (LEO), some of them at polar inclinations. The heaviest payload launched to a LEO are a batch of 60 Starlink satellites weighing a total 15,600 kg (34,400 lb) which SpaceX flies regularly, aiming for 24 of these flights in 2020, to a roughly 290 kilometres (180 mi) orbit.[6] The heaviest payload launched to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) was Intelsat 35e with 6,761 kg (14,905 lb).[a] Launches to higher orbits have included the DSCOVR probe to the Sun–Earth Lagrangian point L1, the TESS space telescope launched on a Lunar flyby trajectory, and the Falcon Heavy test flight payload launched into a heliocentric orbit extending beyond the orbit of Mars.
Launch statistics
Rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 91 times over 10 years, resulting in 89 full mission successes (97.8%), one partial success (CRS-1 delivered its cargo to the ISS, but a secondary payload was stranded in a lower-than-planned orbit), and one failure (the CRS-7 spacecraft was lost in flight). Additionally, one rocket and its payload Amos-6 were destroyed before launch in preparation for an on-pad static fire test.
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 latest upgrade Falcon 9 Full Thrust 68 times from December 2015 to present, 26 of which using a re-flown first stage booster. Falcon Heavy was launched once in February 2018, incorporating two refurbished first stages as side boosters, and then again in April and June 2019, the June flight reusing the side booster from the previous flight. The final "Block 4" booster to be produced was flown in April 2018, and the first Block 5 version in May 2018. While Block 4 boosters were only flown twice and required several months of refurbishment, Block 5 versions are designed to sustain 10 flights with just inspections, possibly on a 24-hour turnover.[7]
The rocket's first-stage boosters have been recovered in 55 of 65 landing attempts (85%), with 31 out of 35 for the latest version, Block 5.
Rocket configurations
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Launch sites5
10
15
20
25
30
2010
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
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Launch outcomes5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2010
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
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Booster landings5
10
15
20
25
30
2010
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
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Past launches
2010 to 2013
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 4, 2010 18:45 |
F9 v1.0[8] B0003[9] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit | LEO | SpaceX | Success | Failure[10][11] (parachute) | |
| First flight of Falcon 9 v1.0.[12] Used a boilerplate version of Dragon capsule which was not designed to separate from the second stage.(more details below) Attempted to recover the first stage by parachuting it into the ocean, but it burned up on reentry, before the parachutes even deployed.[13] | |||||||||
| 2 | December 8, 2010 15:43[14] |
F9 v1.0[8] B0004[9] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Dragon demo flight C1 (Dragon C101) |
LEO (ISS) | Success[10] | Failure[10][15] (parachute) | ||
| Maiden flight of Dragon capsule, consisting of over 3 hours of testing thruster maneuvering and reentry.[16] Attempted to recover the first stage by parachuting it into the ocean, but it disintegrated upon reentry, before the parachutes were deployed.[13] (more details below) It also included two CubeSats[17] and a wheel of Brouère cheese.[18] | |||||||||
| 3 | May 22, 2012 07:44[19] |
F9 v1.0[8] B0005[9] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Dragon demo flight C2+[20] (Dragon C102) |
525 kg (1,157 lb)[21] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (COTS) | Success[22] | No attempt |
| Dragon spacecraft demonstrated a series of tests before it was allowed to approach the ISS. Two days later it became the first commercial spacecraft to board the ISS.[19] (more details below) | |||||||||
| 4 | October 8, 2012 00:35[23] |
F9 v1.0[8] B0006[9] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-1[24] (Dragon C103) |
500 kg (1,100 lb)[c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | No attempt |
| Orbcomm-OG2[25] | 172 kg (379 lb)[26] |
LEO | Orbcomm | Partial failure[27] | |||||
| CRS-1 was successful, but the secondary payload was inserted into abnormally low orbit and subsequently lost. This was due to one of the nine Merlin engines shutting down during the launch, and as per ISS visiting vehicle safety rules, the primary payload owner, NASA, was contractually allowed to decline a second reignition.[28][29][30] | |||||||||
| 5 | March 1, 2013 15:10 |
F9 v1.0[8] B0007[9] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-2[24] (Dragon C105) |
677 kg (1,493 lb)[c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | No attempt |
| Last launch of the original Falcon 9 v1.0 launch vehicle, first use of the unpressurized trunk section of Dragon.[31] | |||||||||
| 6 | September 29, 2013 16:00[32] |
F9 v1.1[8] B1003[9] |
VAFB SLC-4E |
CASSIOPE[24][33] | 500 kg (1,100 lb) |
Polar LEO | MDA | Success[32] | Uncontrolled (ocean)[d] |
| First commercial mission with a private customer, first launch from Vandenberg, and demonstration flight of Falcon 9 v1.1 with an improved 13-tonne to LEO capacity.[31] After separation from the second stage carrying Canadian commercial and scientific satellites, the first stage booster performed a controlled reentry,[34] and an ocean touchdown test for the first time. This provided good test data, even though the booster started rolling as it neared the ocean, leading to the shutdown of the central engine as the roll depleted it of fuel, resulting in a hard impact with the ocean.[32] This was the first known attempt of a rocket engine being lit to perform a supersonic retro propulsion, and allowed SpaceX to enter a public-private partnership with NASA and its Mars entry, descent, and landing technologies research projects.[35] (more details below) | |||||||||
| 7 | December 3, 2013 22:41[36] |
F9 v1.1 B1004 |
CCAFS LC-40 |
SES-8[24][37][38] | 3,170 kg (6,990 lb) |
GTO | SES | Success[39] | No attempt [40] |
| First GTO launch for Falcon 9,[37] and first successful reignition of the second stage.[41] | |||||||||
2014
With six launches, SpaceX became the second most prolific American company in terms of 2014 launches, behind Atlas V rockets.[42]
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | January 6, 2014 22:06[43] |
F9 v1.1 | CCAFS LC-40 |
Thaicom 6[24] | 3,325 kg (7,330 lb) |
GTO | Thaicom | Success[44] | No attempt [45] |
| The Thai communication satellite was the second GTO launch for Falcon 9. The USAF evaluated launch data from this flight as part of a separate certification program for SpaceX to qualify to fly military payloads, but found that the launch had "unacceptable fuel reserves at engine cutoff of the stage 2 second burnoff".[46] | |||||||||
| 9 | April 18, 2014 19:25[23] |
F9 v1.1 | CCAFS LC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-3[24] (Dragon C105) |
2,296 kg (5,062 lb)[47][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Controlled (ocean)[d][48] |
| Following second-stage separation, SpaceX conducted a second controlled-descent test of the discarded booster vehicle and achieved the first successful controlled ocean touchdown of a liquid-rocket-engine orbital booster.[49][50] Following the soft touchdown, the first stage tipped over as expected and was destroyed. This was the first Falcon 9 booster to fly with extensible landing legs and the first Dragon mission with the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle. This flight also launched the ELaNa 5 mission for NASA as a secondary payload.[51][52] | |||||||||
| 10 | July 14, 2014 15:15 |
F9 v1.1 | CCAFS LC-40 |
Orbcomm-OG2-1 (6 satellites)[24] |
1,316 kg (2,901 lb) |
LEO | Orbcomm | Success[53] | Controlled (ocean)[d][48] |
| Payload included 6 satellites weighing 172 kg each and two 142-kg mass simulators.[26][54] Equipped for the second time with landing legs, the first-stage booster successfully conducted a controlled-descent test consisting of a burn for deceleration from hypersonic velocity in the upper atmosphere, a reentry burn, and a final landing burn before soft-landing on the ocean surface.[55] | |||||||||
| 11 | August 5, 2014 08:00 |
F9 v1.1 | CCAFS LC-40 |
AsiaSat 8[24][56][57] | 4,535 kg (9,998 lb) |
GTO | AsiaSat | Success[58] | No attempt [59] |
| First time SpaceX managed a launch site turnaround between two flights of under a month (22 days). GTO launch of the large communication satellite from Hong Kong did not allow for propulsive return-over-water and controlled splashdown of the first stage.[59] | |||||||||
| 12 | September 7, 2014 05:00 |
F9 v1.1 B1011[9] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
AsiaSat 6[24][56][60] | 4,428 kg (9,762 lb) |
GTO | AsiaSat | Success[61] | No attempt |
| Launch was delayed for two weeks for additional verifications after a malfunction observed in the development of the F9R Dev1 prototype.[62] GTO launch of the heavy payload did not allow for controlled splashdown.[63] | |||||||||
| 13 | September 21, 2014 05:52[23] |
F9 v1.1 B1010[9] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-4[24] (Dragon C106.1) |
2,216 kg (4,885 lb)[64][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success[65] | Uncontrolled (ocean)[d][66] |
| Fourth attempt of a soft ocean touchdown,[67] but the booster ran out of liquid oxygen.[66] Detailed thermal imaging infrared sensor data was collected however by NASA, as part of a joint arrangement with SpaceX as part of research on retropropulsive deceleration technologies for developing new approaches to Martian atmospheric entry.[67] | |||||||||
2015
With 7 launches in 2015, Falcon 9 was the second most launched American rocket behind Atlas V.[68]
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | January 10, 2015 09:47[69] |
F9 v1.1 B1012[9] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-5[70] (Dragon C107) |
2,395 kg (5,280 lb)[71][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success[72] | Failure[73] (drone ship) |
| Following second-stage separation, SpaceX attempted to return the first stage for the first time to a 90-by-50-meter (300 ft × 160 ft) floating platform—called the autonomous spaceport drone ship. The test achieved many objectives and returned a large amount of data, but the grid-fin control surfaces used for the first time for more precise reentry positioning ran out of hydraulic fluid for its control system a minute before landing, resulting in a landing crash.[74][75] | |||||||||
| 15 | February 11, 2015 23:03[76] |
F9 v1.1 B1013[9] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
DSCOVR[70][77] | 570 kg (1,260 lb) |
HEO (Sun–Earth L1 insertion) |
Success | Controlled (ocean)[d] | |
| First launch under USAF's OSP 3 launch contract.[78] First SpaceX launch to put a satellite beyond a geostationary transfer orbit, first SpaceX launch into interplanetary space, and first SpaceX launch of an American research satellite. The first stage made a test flight descent to an over-ocean landing within 10 m (33 ft) of its intended target.[79] | |||||||||
| 16 | March 2, 2015 03:50[23][80] |
F9 v1.1 B1014[9] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
4,159 kg (9,169 lb) |
GTO | Success | No attempt [81] | ||
| The launch was Boeing's first conjoined launch of a lighter-weight dual-commsat stack that was specifically designed to take advantage of the lower-cost SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.[82][83] Per satellite, launch costs were less than $30 million.[84] The ABS satellite reached its final destination ahead of schedule and started operations on September 10.[85] | |||||||||
| 17 | April 14, 2015 20:10[23] |
F9 v1.1 B1015[9] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-6[70] (Dragon C108.1) |
1,898 kg (4,184 lb)[86][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Failure[87] (drone ship) |
| After second-stage separation, a controlled-descent test was attempted with the first stage. After the booster contacted the ship, it tipped over due to excess lateral velocity caused by a stuck throttle valve that delayed downthrottle at the correct time.[88][89] | |||||||||
| 18 | April 27, 2015 23:03[90] |
F9 v1.1 B1016[9] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
TürkmenÄlem 52°E / MonacoSAT[70][91] | 4,707 kg (10,377 lb) |
GTO | Turkmenistan National Space Agency[92] |
Success | No attempt [93] |
| Original intended launch was delayed over a month after an issue with the helium pressurisation system was identified on similar parts in the assembly plant.[94] Subsequent launch successfully positioned this first Turkmen satellite at 52°E. | |||||||||
| 19 (Dragon C109) |
June 28, 2015 14:21[23][95] |
F9 v1.1 B1018[9] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-7[70] | 1,952 kg (4,303 lb)[96][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Failure[97] (in flight) |
Precluded[98] (drone ship) |
| Launch performance was nominal until an overpressure incident in the second-stage LOX tank, leading to vehicle breakup at T+150 seconds. Dragon capsule survived the explosion but was lost upon splashdown as its software did not contain provisions for parachute deployment on launch vehicle failure.[99] (more details below) The drone ship Of Course I Still Love You was towed out to sea to prepare for a landing test so this mission was its first operational assignment.[100] | |||||||||
| 20 | December 22, 2015 01:29[101] |
F9 FT B1019[102] |
CCAFS LC-40 |
Orbcomm-OG2-2 (11 satellites)[24][101] |
2,034 kg (4,484 lb) |
LEO | Orbcomm | Success | Success[103] (ground pad) |
| Payload included eleven satellites weighing 172 kg each,[26] and a 142-kg mass simulator.[54] First launch of the upgraded v1.1 version, with a 30% power increase.[104] Orbcomm had originally agreed to be the third flight of the enhanced-thrust rocket,[105] but the change to the maiden flight position was announced in October 2015.[104] SpaceX received a permit from the FAA to land the booster on solid ground at Cape Canaveral[106] and succeeded for the first time.[103] This booster, serial number B1019, is now on permanent display outside SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Jack Northrop Avenue.[102] (more details below) | |||||||||
2016
With 8 successful launches for 2016, SpaceX equalled Atlas V for most American rocket launches for the year.[107]
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | January 17, 2016 18:42[23] | F9 v1.1 B1017[9] |
VAFB SLC-4E | Jason-3[70][108] | 553 kg (1,219 lb) |
LEO | Success | Failure (drone ship) | |
| First launch of NASA and NOAA joint science mission under the NLS II launch contract (not related to NASA CRS or USAF OSP3 contracts) and last launch of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle. The Jason-3 satellite was successfully deployed to target orbit.[109] SpaceX attempted for the first time to recover the first-stage booster on its new Pacific autonomous drone ship, but after a soft landing on the ship, the lockout on one of the landing legs failed to latch and the booster fell over and exploded.[110][111] | |||||||||
| 22 | March 4, 2016 23:35[23] | F9 FT B1020[112] |
CCAFS LC-40 | SES-9[70][113][114] | 5,271 kg (11,621 lb) |
GTO | SES | Success | Failure (drone ship) |
| Second launch of the enhanced Falcon 9 Full Thrust launch vehicle.[104] SpaceX attempted for the first time to recover a booster from a GTO launch to a drone ship.[115] Successful landing was not expected due to low fuel reserves[116] and the booster "landed hard".[117] But the controlled-descent, atmospheric re-entry and navigation to the drone ship were successful and returned significant test data on bringing back high-energy Falcon 9 boosters.[118] | |||||||||
| 23 | April 8, 2016 20:43[23] | F9 FT B1021.1[119] |
CCAFS LC-40 | SpaceX CRS-8[70][114] (Dragon C110.1) |
3,136 kg (6,914 lb)[120][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success[121] | Success[122] (drone ship) |
| Dragon carried over 1500 kg of supplies and delivered the inflatable Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) to the ISS for two years of in-orbit tests.[123] The rocket's first stage landed smoothly on SpaceX's autonomous spaceport drone ship at 9 minutes after liftoff, making this the first successful landing of a rocket booster on a ship at sea from an orbital launch.[124] The first stage B1021 later became the first orbital booster to be reused when it launched SES-10 on March 30, 2017.[119] A month later, the Dragon spacecraft returned a downmass containing astronaut's Scott Kelly biological samples from his year-long mission on ISS.[125] (more details below) | |||||||||
| 24 | May 6, 2016 05:21[23] | F9 FT B1022[126] |
CCAFS LC-40 | JCSAT-14[127] | 4,696 kg (10,353 lb)[128] |
GTO | SKY Perfect JSAT Group | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| First time SpaceX launched a Japanese satellite, and first time a booster landed successfully after launching a payload into a GTO.[129] As this flight profile has a smaller margin for the booster recovery, the first stage re-entered Earth's atmosphere faster than for previous landings, with five times the heating power.[130][131] | |||||||||
| 25 | May 27, 2016 21:39[132] | F9 FT B1023.1[133] |
CCAFS LC-40 | Thaicom 8[134][135] | 3,100 kg (6,800 lb)[136] |
GTO | Thaicom | Success | Success[137] (drone ship) |
| Second successful return from a GTO launch,[138] after launching Thaicom 8 towards 78.5° E.[139] Later became the first booster to be reflown after being recovered from a GTO launch. THAICOM 8 was delivered to a Super-Synchronous Transfer Orbit of 91,000 km.[140] | |||||||||
| 26 | June 15, 2016 14:29[23] | F9 FT B1024[112] |
CCAFS LC-40 | 3,600 kg (7,900 lb) |
GTO | Success | Failure[66] (drone ship) | ||
| One year after pioneering this technique on Flight 16, Falcon again launched two Boeing 702SP gridded ion thruster satellites at 1,800 kg each,[141][142] in a dual-stack configuration, with the two customers sharing the rocket and mission costs.[85] First-stage landing attempt on drone ship failed due to low thrust on one of the three landing engines;[143] a sub-optimal path led to the stage running out of propellant just above the deck of the landing ship.[144] | |||||||||
| 27 | July 18, 2016 04:45[23] | F9 FT B1025.1[133] |
CCAFS LC-40 | SpaceX CRS-9[70][145] (Dragon C111.1) |
2,257 kg (4,976 lb)[146][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| Cargo to ISS included an International Docking Adapter (IDA-2) and total payload with reusable Dragon Capsule was 6,457 kilograms (14,235 lb). Second successful first-stage landing on a ground pad.[147] | |||||||||
| 28 | August 14, 2016 05:26 | F9 FT B1026[112] |
CCAFS LC-40 | JCSAT-16 | 4,600 kg (10,100 lb) |
GTO | SKY Perfect JSAT Group | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| First attempt to land from a ballistic trajectory using a single-engine landing burn, as all previous landings from a ballistic trajectory had fired three engines on the final burn. The latter provides more braking force but subjects the vehicle to greater structural stresses, while the single-engine landing burn takes more time and fuel while allowing more time during final descent for corrections.[148] | |||||||||
| N/A[e] | September 3, 2016, 07:00 (planned)[149] |
F9 FT B1028[112] |
CCAFS LC-40 | Amos-6[150] | 5,500 kg (12,100 lb) |
GTO | Spacecom | Precluded (failure pre-flight) |
Precluded (drone ship) |
| The rocket and the Amos-6 payload were lost in a launch pad explosion on September 1 during propellant filling procedures prior to a static fire test.[151] The pad was clear of personnel, and there were no injuries.[152] SpaceX released an official statement in January 2017 indicating that the cause of the failure was a buckled liner in several of the COPVs (used to store helium which pressurize the stage's propellant tanks), causing perforations that allowed liquid and/or solid oxygen to accumulate underneath the lining, which was ignited by friction.[153] Following the explosion, SpaceX has switched to performing static fire tests only without attached payloads. (more details below) | |||||||||
2017
With 18 launches throughout 2017, SpaceX had the most prolific yearly launch manifest of all rocket families.[154]
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | January 14, 2017 17:54 | F9 FT B1029.1[155] |
VAFB SLC-4E | Iridium NEXT-1 (10 satellites)[156][157] |
9,600 kg (21,200 lb) |
Polar LEO | Iridium Communications | Success | Success[158] (drone ship) |
| Return-to-flight mission after the loss of Amos-6 in September 2016. This was the first launch of a series of Iridium NEXT satellites intended to replace the original Iridium constellation launched in the late 1990s. Each Falcon 9 mission carried 10 satellites, with a goal of 66 plus 9 spare[159] satellites constellation by mid-2018.[160][161] Following the delayed launch of the first two Iridium units with a Dnepr rocket from April 2016, Iridium Communications decided to launch the first batch of 10 satellites with SpaceX instead.[162] Payload comprised ten satellites weighing 860 kg each plus a 1,000-kg dispenser.[163] | |||||||||
| 30 | February 19, 2017 14:39 | F9 FT B1031.1[9] |
KSC LC-39A | SpaceX CRS-10[145] (Dragon C112.1) |
2,490 kg (5,490 lb)[164][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| First Falcon 9 flight from the historic LC-39A launchpad at Kennedy Space Center, and first uncrewed launch from LC-39A since Skylab-1.[165] The flight carried supplies and materials to support ISS Expeditions 50 and 51, and third return of first stage booster to landing pad at Cape Canaveral LZ-1.[166] | |||||||||
| 31 | March 16, 2017 06:00 | F9 FT B1030[167] |
KSC LC-39A | EchoStar 23 | 5,600 kg (12,300 lb)[168] |
GTO | EchoStar | Success | No attempt [169] |
| First uncrewed non-station launch from LC-39A since Apollo 6.[165] Launched a communications satellite for broadcast services over Brazil.[170] Due to the payload size launch into a GTO, the booster was expended into the Atlantic and did not feature landing legs and grid fins.[171] | |||||||||
| 32 | March 30, 2017 22:27 | F9 FT ♺ B1021.2[119] |
KSC LC-39A | SES-10[113][172] | 5,300 kg (11,700 lb)[173] |
GTO | SES | Success[174] | Success (drone ship) |
| First payload to fly on a reused first stage, B1021, previously launched with CRS-8, and first to land intact a second time.[175][174] Additionally, this flight was the first reused rocket to fly from LC-39A since STS-135 and for the first time the payload fairing, used to protect the payload during launch, remained intact after a successful splashdown achieved with thrusters and a steerable parachute.[176][177] (more details below) | |||||||||
| 33 | May 1, 2017 11:15 | F9 FT B1032.1[133] |
KSC LC-39A | NROL-76[178] | Classified | LEO[179] | NRO | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| First launch under SpaceX's 2015 certification for national security space missions, which allowed SpaceX to contract launch services for classified payloads,[180] and thus breaking the monopoly ULA held on classified launches since 2006.[181] For the first time, SpaceX offered continuous livestream of first stage booster from liftoff to landing, but omitted second-stage speed and altitude telemetry.[182] | |||||||||
| 34 | May 15, 2017 23:21 | F9 FT B1034[183] |
KSC LC-39A | Inmarsat-5 F4[184] | 6,070 kg (13,380 lb)[185] |
GTO | Inmarsat | Success | No attempt [169] |
| The launch was originally scheduled for the Falcon Heavy, but performance improvements allowed the mission to be carried out by an expendable Falcon 9 instead.[186] Inmarsat 5 F4 was delivered into an arcing “supersynchronous” transfer orbit of 381 km X 68,839 km in altitude, tilted 24.5 degrees to the equator.[187] | |||||||||
| 35 | June 3, 2017 21:07 | F9 FT B1035.1[188] |
KSC LC-39A | SpaceX CRS-11[145] (Dragon C106.2) |
2,708 kg (5,970 lb)[189][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| This mission delivered NICER,[190] MUSES[191] ROSA[192] an Advanced Plant Habitat to the ISS,[193][194] and Birds-1 payloads. This mission launched for the first time a refurbished Dragon capsule,[195] serial number C106, which had flown in September 2014 on the CRS-4 mission,[188] and was the first time since 2011 a reused spacecraft arrived at the ISS.[196] Five cubesats were included in the payload, the first satellites from the countries of Bangladesh (BRAC ONNESHA), Ghana (GhanaSat-1), and Mongolia (Mazaalai).[197] | |||||||||
| 36 | June 23, 2017 19:10 | F9 FT ♺ B1029.2[198] |
KSC LC-39A | BulgariaSat-1[199] | 3,669 kg (8,089 lb)[200] |
GTO | Bulsatcom | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Second time a booster was reused, as B1029 had flown the Iridium mission in January 2017.[198] This was the first commercial Bulgarian-owned communications satellite.[198] | |||||||||
| 37 | June 25, 2017 20:25 | F9 FT B1036.1[201] |
VAFB SLC-4E | Iridium NEXT-2 (10 satellites) |
9,600 kg (21,200 lb) |
LEO | Iridium Communications | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Second Iridium constellation launch of 10 satellites, and first flight using titanium (instead of aluminium) grid fins to improve control authority and better cope with heat during re-entry.[202] | |||||||||
| 38 | July 5, 2017 23:38 | F9 FT B1037[203] |
KSC LC-39A | Intelsat 35e[204] | 6,761 kg (14,905 lb)[205] |
GTO | Intelsat | Success | No attempt [169] |
| Originally expected to be flown on a Falcon Heavy,[206] improvements to the Merlin engines meant that the heavy satellite could be flown to GTO in an expendable configuration of Falcon 9.[207] The rocket achieved a super-synchronous orbit peaking at 43,000 km (27,000 mi), exceeding the minimum requirements of 28,000 km (17,000 mi).[208] | |||||||||
| 39 | August 14, 2017 16:31 | F9 B4 B1039.1[209] |
KSC LC-39A | SpaceX CRS-12[145] (Dragon C113.1) |
3,310 kg (7,300 lb)[c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| Dragon carried 2,349 kg (5,179 lb) of pressurized and 961 kg (2,119 lb) unpressurized mass, including the CREAM detector.[193] First flight of the upgrade known informally as "Block 4", which increases thrust from the main engines and includes other small upgrades,[209] and last flight of a newly-built Dragon capsule, as further missions are planned to use refurbished spacecrafts.[210] Also launched the ElaNa 22 mission.[51] | |||||||||
| 40 | August 24, 2017 18:51 | F9 FT B1038.1[211] |
VAFB SLC-4E | Formosat-5[212][213] | 475 kg (1,047 lb)[214] |
SSO | NSPO | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| First Earth observation satellite developed and constructed by Taiwan. The payload was much under the rocket's specifications, as the Spaceflight Industries SHERPA space tug had been removed from the cargo manifest of this mission,[215] leading to analyst speculations that with discounts due to delays, SpaceX lost money on the launch.[216] | |||||||||
| 41 | September 7, 2017 14:00[217] | F9 B4 B1040.1[112] |
KSC LC-39A | Boeing X-37B OTV-5 | 4,990 kg (11,000 lb)[218] + OTV payload |
LEO | U.S. Air Force | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| Due to the classified nature of the mission, the second-stage speed and altitude telemetry were omitted from the launch webcast. Notably, the primary contractor, Boeing, had launched the X-37B with ULA, a Boeing partnership and a SpaceX competitor.[219] Second flight of the Falcon 9 Block 4 upgrade.[220] | |||||||||
| 42 | October 9, 2017 12:37 | F9 B4 B1041.1[221] |
VAFB SLC-4E | Iridium NEXT-3 (10 satellites)[156] |
9,600 kg (21,200 lb) |
Polar LEO | Iridium Communications | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Third flight of the Falcon 9 Block 4 upgrade, and the third launch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites.[221] | |||||||||
| 43 | October 11, 2017
22:53:00 |
F9 FT ♺ B1031.2[222] |
KSC, LC-39A | SES-11 / EchoStar 105 | 5,200 kilograms (11,500 pounds) |
GTO | Success | Success (drone ship) | |
| Third reuse and recovery of a previously flown first-stage booster, and the second time the contractor SES used a reflown booster.[222] The large satellite is shared, in "CondoSat" arrangement between SES and Echostar.[223] | |||||||||
| 44 | October 30, 2017 19:34 | F9 B4 B1042[221] |
KSC LC-39A | Koreasat 5A[224] | 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) |
GTO | KT Corporation | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| First SpaceX launch of a South Korean satellite, placed in GEO at 113° E.[225] It was the third launch and land for SpaceX in three weeks, and the 15th successful landing in a row.[226] A small fire was observed under the booster after it landed, leading to speculations about damages to the engines which would preclude it from flying it again.[227] | |||||||||
| 45 | December 15, 2017 15:36[228] | F9 FT ♺ B1035.2[229] |
CCAFS SLC-40 | SpaceX CRS-13[145] (Dragon C108.2) |
2,205 kg (4,861 lb)[c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| First launch to take place at the refurbished pad at Cape Canaveral after the 2016 Amos-6 explosion, and the 20th successful booster landing. Being the second reuse of a Dragon capsule (previously flown on CRS-6) and fourth reuse of a booster (previously flown on CRS-11) it was the first time both major components were reused on the same flight.[230][229] | |||||||||
| 46 | December 23, 2017 01:27[231] | F9 FT ♺ B1036.2[229] |
VAFB SLC-4E | Iridium NEXT-4 (10 satellites)[156] |
9,600 kg (21,200 lb) |
Polar LEO | Iridium Communications | Success[232] | Controlled (ocean)[d][232] |
| In order to avoid delays and convinced of no increased risks, Iridium Communications accepted the use of a recovered booster for its 10 satellites, and became the first customer to fly the same first-stage booster twice (from the second Iridium NEXT mission).[233][234] SpaceX chose not to attempt recovery of the booster, but did perform a soft ocean touchdown.[235] The launch occurred during sunset, which caused a twilight effect where sunlight reflected from the rocket plumes at high altitude, causing "jaw-dropping views" across Southern California and surrounding regions.[236] | |||||||||
2018
In November 2017, Gwynne Shotwell expected to increase launch cadence in 2018 by about 50% compared to 2017, leveling out at a rate of about 30 to 40 per year, not including launches for the planned SpaceX satellite constellation Starlink.[237] The actual launch rate increased by 17% from 18 in 2017 to 21 in 2018, giving SpaceX the second most launches for the year for a rocket family, behind China's Long March.[238]
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | January 8, 2018 01:00[239] | F9 B4 B1043.1[240] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Zuma[240][241][242] | Classified | LEO | Northrop Grumman[f][240] | Success[243] (unclear) |
Success (ground pad) |
| The mission had been postponed by nearly two months. Following a nominal launch, the recovery of the first-stage booster marked the 17th successful recovery in a row.[244] Rumors appeared that the payload was lost, as the satellite might have failed to separate from the second stage [245] due to a fault in the Northrop Grumman-manufactured payload adapter, to which SpaceX announced that their rocket performed nominally.[245] The classified nature of the mission means that there is little confirmed information. (more details below) | |||||||||
| 48 | January 31, 2018 21:25[246] | F9 FT ♺ B1032.2[247] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
GovSat-1 / SES-16[248] | 4,230 kg (9,330 lb)[249] |
GTO | SES | Success[250] | Controlled (ocean)[d][250] |
| Reused booster from the classified NROL-76 mission in May 2017.[247] Following a successful experimental soft ocean landing that used three engines, the booster unexpectedly remained intact. Recovery was talked about and a Craiglist ad believed to be made by Elon Musk jokingly said the booster was for sale at $9.9 million if the buyer brought their own tugboat.[251] Despite this, recovery was not attempted, and the booster was subsequently destroyed.[252] GovSat-1 satellite was put into a high-energy Supersynchronous Transfer Orbit of 250 x 51,500 km.[253][254] | |||||||||
| FH 1 | February 6, 2018 20:45[255] | Falcon Heavy B1033 (core)[133] |
KSC LC-39A |
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster[256][257] | ~1,250 kg (2,760 lb)[258] |
Heliocentric 0.99–1.67 AU[258] (close to Mars transfer orbit) |
SpaceX | Success[259] | Failure[259] (drone ship) |
| B1023.2[9] (side) ♺ | Success (ground pad) | ||||||||
| B1025.2[9] (side) ♺ | Success (ground pad) | ||||||||
| Maiden flight of Falcon Heavy, using two recovered Falcon 9 cores as side boosters (from the Thaicom 8[260] and CRS-9[133] missions), as well as a modified Block 3 booster reinforced to endure the additional load from the two side boosters. The static fire test, held on January 24, was the first time 27 engines were tested together.[261] The launch was a success, and the side boosters landed simultaneously at adjacent ground pads.[259] Drone ship landing of the central core failed due to TEA–TEB chemical igniter running out, preventing two of its engines from restarting; the landing failure caused damage to the nearby drone ship.[262][263] Final burn to heliocentric Mars–Earth orbit was performed after the second stage and payload cruised for 6 hours through the Van Allen belts.[264] Later, Elon Musk tweeted that the third burn was successful,[265] and JPL's HORIZONS system showed the second stage and payload in an orbit with an aphelion of 1.67 AU.[266] The live webcast proved immensely popular, as it became the second most watched livestream so far on YouTube, reaching over 2.3 million concurrent views.[267] Over 100,000 visitors are believed to have come to the Space Coast to watch the launch in person.[268](more details below) | |||||||||
| 49 | February 22, 2018 14:17[269] | F9 FT ♺ B1038.2[270] |
VAFB SLC-4E |
2,150 kg (4,740 lb) |
SSO | Success[273] | No attempt [273] | ||
| Last flight of a Block 3 first stage. Reused the booster from the Formosat-5 mission.[270] Paz (peace) is Spain's first spy satellite[274] that will be operated in a constellation with the German SAR fleet TSX and TDX.[271] In addition, the rocket carried two SpaceX test satellites for their forthcoming communications network in low Earth orbit.[275][272] This core flew without landing legs and was expended at sea.[275] It also featured an upgraded payload fairing 2.0 with a first recovery attempt using the Mr. Steven crew boat equipped with a net. The fairing narrowly missed the boat, but achieved a soft water landing.[276][277][273] | |||||||||
| 50 | March 6, 2018 05:33[278] | F9 B4 B1044[112] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
|
6,092 kg (13,431 lb)[281] |
GTO | Success[282] | No attempt [283] | |
| The Spanish commsat was the largest satellite flown by SpaceX as of March 2018[update], "nearly the size of a bus".[284] A drone ship landing was planned, but scrapped due to unfavorable weather conditions.[283] SpaceX left the landing legs and titanium grid fins in place to prevent further delays, after previous concerns with the fairing pressurization and conflicts with the launch of GOES-S.[285] The Hispasat 30W-6 satellite was propelled into a supersynchronous transfer orbit.[286] | |||||||||
| 51 | March 30, 2018 14:14[287] | F9 B4 ♺ B1041.2[270] |
VAFB SLC-4E |
Iridium NEXT-5 (10 satellites)[156] |
9,600 kg (21,200 lb) |
Polar LEO | Iridium Communications | Success[288] | No attempt [289] |
| Fifth Iridium NEXT mission launch of 10 satellites used the refurbished booster from third Iridium flight. As with recent reflown boosters, SpaceX used the controlled descent of the first stage to test more booster recovery options.[290] SpaceX planned a second recovery attempt of one half of the fairing using the specially modified boat Mr. Steven,[291] but the parafoil twisted, which led to the fairing half missing the boat.[292] | |||||||||
| 52 | April 2, 2018 20:30[293] |
F9 B4 ♺ B1039.2[294] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-14[145] (Dragon C110.2) |
2,647 kg (5,836 lb)[294][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success[295] | No attempt [296] |
| The launch used a refurbished booster (from CRS-12) and a refurbished capsule (C110 from CRS-8).[294] External payloads include a materials research platform MISSE-FF[297] phase 3 of the Robotic Refueling Mission[298] TSIS,[299] ASIM heliophysics sensor,[193] several crystallization experiments,[300] and the RemoveDEBRIS system aimed at space debris removal.[301] The booster was expended, and SpaceX collected more data on reentry profiles.[302] It also carried the first Costa Rican satellite, Project Irazú,[303] and the first Kenyan satellite, 1KUNS-PF.[304] | |||||||||
| 53 | April 18, 2018 22:51[305] | F9 B4 B1045.1[270] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)[306] | 362 kg (798 lb)[307] |
HEO for P/2 orbit | NASA (LSP) | Success[308] | Success[308] (drone ship) |
| First NASA high-priority science mission launched by SpaceX. Part of the Explorers program, TESS is space telescope intended for wide-field search of exoplanets transiting nearby stars. It was the first time SpaceX launched a scientific satellite not primarily intended for Earth observations. The second stage placed the spacecraft into a high elliptical Earth orbit, after which the satellite performed its own maneuvers, including a lunar flyby, such that over the course of two months it reached a stable 2:1 resonant orbit with the Moon.[309] In January 2018, SpaceX received NASA's Launch Services Program Category 2 certification of its Falcon 9 "Full Thrust", certification which is required for launching "medium-risk" missions like TESS.[310] Last launch of a new Block 4 booster,[311] and the 24th successful recovery of the first stage. An experimental water landing of the launch fairing was performed in order to attempt fairing recovery, primarily as a test of parachute systems.[307][308] | |||||||||
| 54 | May 11, 2018 20:14[312] |
F9 B5[313] B1046.1[270] |
KSC LC-39A |
Bangabandhu-1[314][315] | 3,600 kg (7,900 lb)[316] |
GTO | Thales-Alenia/BTRC | Success[317] | Success[317] (drone ship) |
| First Block 5 launch vehicle booster to fly. Initially planned for an Ariane 5 launch in December 2017,[318] it became the first Bangladeshi commercial satellite,[319] built by Thales-Alenia.[320][321] It is intended to serve telecom services from 119° E with a lifetime of 15 years.[322] It was the 25th successfully recovered first stage booster.[317] | |||||||||
| 55 | May 22, 2018 19:47[323] |
F9 B4 ♺ B1043.2[324] |
VAFB SLC-4E |
6,460 kg (14,240 lb)[g] |
Polar LEO | Success[329] | No attempt [169] | ||
| Sixth Iridium NEXT mission launching 5 satellites used the refurbished booster from Zuma. GFZ arranged a rideshare of GRACE-FO on a Falcon 9 with Iridium following the cancellation of their Dnepr launch contract in 2015.[325] Iridium CEO Matt Desch disclosed in September 2017 that GRACE-FO would be launched on this mission.[330] The booster reuse turnaround was a record 4.5 months between flights.[331] | |||||||||
| 56 | June 4, 2018 04:45[332] |
F9 B4 ♺ B1040.2[270] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SES-12[333] | 5,384 kg (11,870 lb)[334] |
GTO | SES | Success[335] | No attempt [169] |
| The communications satellite serving the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region at the same place as SES-8, and was the largest satellite built for SES.[333] The Block 4 first stage was expended,[334] while the second stage was a Block 5 version, delivering more power towards a higher supersynchronous transfer orbit with 58,000 km (36,000 mi) apogee.[336] | |||||||||
| 57 | June 29, 2018 09:42[337] |
F9 B4 ♺ B1045.2[338] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-15 (Dragon C111.2) |
2,697 kg (5,946 lb)[339][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success[340] | No attempt [169] |
| Payload included MISSE-FF 2, ECOSTRESS, a Latching End Effector, and Birds-2 payloads. The refurbished booster featured a record 2.5 months period turnaround from its original launch of the TESS satellite, a record that will be held till February 2020 with the Starlink F4 mission. The fastest previous was 4.5 months. This was the last flight of a Block 4 booster, which was expended into the Atlantic without landing legs and grid fins.[341] | |||||||||
| 58 | July 22, 2018 05:50[342] |
F9 B5 B1047.1 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Telstar 19V[343] | 7,075 kg (15,598 lb)[344] |
GTO[345] | Telesat | Success[346] | Success[346] (drone ship) |
| SSL-manufactured communications satellite intended to be placed at 63° West over the Americas,[347] replacing Telstar 14R.[345] At 7,075 kg, it became the heaviest commercial communications satellite so far launched.[348][349] This necessitated that the satellite be launched into a lower-energy orbit than a usual GTO, with its initial apogee at roughly 17,900 km.[345] | |||||||||
| 59 | July 25, 2018 11:39[350] |
F9 B5[351] B1048.1[352] |
VAFB SLC-4E |
Iridium NEXT-7 (10 satellites)[156] |
9,600 kg (21,200 lb) |
Polar LEO | Iridium Communications | Success[353] | Success[354] (drone ship) |
| Seventh Iridium NEXT launch, with 10 communication satellites.[353] The booster landed safely on the drone ship in the worst weather conditions for any landing yet attempted.[354][353] Mr. Steven boat with an upgraded 4x size net was used to attempt fairing recovery but failed due to harsh weather.[354][353] | |||||||||
| 60 | August 7, 2018 05:18[355] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1046.2[356] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Merah Putih (formerly Telkom 4)[357][358] | 5,800 kg (12,800 lb)[359] |
GTO | Telkom Indonesia | Success[360] | Success[360] (drone ship) |
| Indonesian comsat intended to replace the aging Telkom 1 at 108° E.[361] First reflight of a Block 5-version booster.[362] | |||||||||
| 61 | September 10, 2018 04:45[363] |
F9 B5 B1049.1[270] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Telstar 18V / Apstar-5C[343] | 7,060 kg (15,560 lb)[363] |
GTO[363] | Telesat | Success[363] | Success[363] (drone ship) |
| Condosat for 138° East over Asia and Pacific.[364] Delivered to a GTO orbit with apogee close to 18,000 km.[363] | |||||||||
| 62 | October 8, 2018 02:22[365] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1048.2[366] |
VAFB SLC-4E |
SAOCOM 1A[367][368] | 3,000 kg (6,600 lb)[365] |
SSO | CONAE | Success[365] | Success[365] (ground pad) |
| Argentinian Earth-observation satellite was originally intended to be launched in 2012.[367] First landing on the West Coast ground pad.[365] | |||||||||
| 63 | November 15, 2018 20:46[369] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1047.2[270] |
KSC LC-39A |
Es'hail 2[370] | 5,300 kg (11,700 lb)[371] |
GTO | Es'hailSat | Success[372] | Success[372] (drone ship) |
| Qatari comsat positioned at 26° E.[370] This launch used redesigned COPVs. This was to meet NASA safety requirements for commercial crew missions, in response to the September 2016 pad explosion.[373] | |||||||||
| 64 | December 3, 2018 18:34:05 |
F9 B5 ♺ B1046.3[270]+ SHERPA |
VAFB SLC-4E |
SSO-A (SmallSat Express) | ~4,000 kg (8,800 lb)[374] |
SSO | Spaceflight Industries | Success[375] | Success[375] (drone ship) |
| Rideshare mission[376] where two SHERPA dispensers deployed 64 small satellites,[377][378] including Eu:CROPIS[379] for the German DLR, HIBER-2 for the Dutch Hiber Global,[380] ITASAT-1 for the Brazilian Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica,[381] two high-resolution SkySat imaging satellites for Planet Labs,[382] and two high school CubeSats part of NASA's ELaNa 24.[383] This was the first time a booster was used for a third flight. | |||||||||
| 65 | December 5, 2018 18:16 |
F9 B5 B1050[270] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-16 (Dragon C112.2) |
2,500 kg (5,600 lb)[384][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Failure[385] (ground pad) |
| First CRS mission with the Falcon 9 Block 5. This carried the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar (GEDI) as an external payload.[386] The mission was delayed by one day due to moldy rodent food for one of the experiments on the Space Station. A previously flown Dragon spacecraft was used for the mission. The booster, in use for the first time, experienced a grid fin hydraulic pump stall on reentry, which caused it to spin out of control and touchdown at sea, heavily damaging the interstage section; this was the first failed landing attempt on a ground pad.[385][387] | |||||||||
| 66 | December 23, 2018 13:51[388] |
F9 B5 B1054[389] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
GPS III-01 (Vespucci) | 4,400 kg (9,700 lb)[390] |
MEO | U.S. Air Force | Success [388] | No attempt [388] |
| Initially planned for a Delta IV launch,[391] this was SpaceX's first launch of an EELV-class payload.[392] There was no attempt to recover the first-stage booster for reuse [393][389] due to the customer's requirements, including a high inclination orbit of 55°.[394] Nicknamed Vespucci, the satellite the USAF marked it operational in January 2020 under the label SVN 74.[395] | |||||||||
2019
Shotwell declared in May 2019 that SpaceX might conduct up to 21 launches in 2019, not counting Starlink missions.[396] but by September she declared that there will be at most 18 total launches.[397] SpaceX ended up launching only 13 rockets throughout 2019, significantly fewer than in 2017 and 2018, and third most launches of vehicle class behind China's Long March and Russia's R-7 rockets.[398]
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site |
Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | January 11, 2019 15:31[399] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1049.2[400] |
VAFB SLC-4E |
Iridium NEXT-8 (10 satellites)[156] |
9,600 kg (21,200 lb) |
Polar LEO | Iridium Communications | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Final launch of the Iridium NEXT contract, launching 10 satellites. | |||||||||
| 68 | February 22, 2019 01:45[401] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1048.3[402] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
|
4,850 kg (10,690 lb)[406] |
GTO | Success | Success (drone ship) | |
| Nusantara Satu is a private Indonesian comsat planned to be located at 146° E,[403] with a launch mass of 4100 kg,[406] and featuring electric propulsion for orbit-raising and station-keeping.[407][408] S5, a 60-kg smallsat by the Air Force Research Laboratory, was piggybacked on Nusantara Satu, and was deployed near its GEO position to perform a classified space situational awareness mission. This launch opportunity was brokered by Spaceflight Industries as "GTO-1".[405]
The Beresheet Moon lander (initially called Sparrow) was one of the candidates for the Google Lunar X-Prize, whose developers SpaceIL had secured a launch contract with Spaceflight Industries in October 2015.[409] Its launch mass was 585 kg including fuel.[410] After separating into a supersynchronous transfer orbit[411] with an apogee of 69,400 km,[412][410] Beresheet raised its orbit by its own power over two months and flew to the Moon.[411][413] After successfully getting into lunar orbit, Beresheet attempted to land on the Moon on 11 April 2019 but failed.[414] | |||||||||
| 69 | March 2, 2019 07:49[415] |
F9 B5 B1051.1[270][416] |
KSC LC-39A |
SpX-DM1[417] (Dragon C201) |
12,055 kg (26,577 lb)[418][h] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CCD) | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| First flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. This was the first demonstration flight for the NASA Commercial Crew Program which awarded SpaceX a contract in September 2014 with flights hoped as early as 2015.[419] The Dragon performed an autonomous docking to the ISS 27 hours after launch with the hatch being opened roughly 2 hours later.[420] The vehicle spent nearly a week docked to the ISS to test critical functions. It undocked roughly a week later on March 8 and splashed down six hours later at 13:45.[421] The Dragon used on this flight was scheduled to fly on the inflight abort test in mid-2019 but was destroyed during testing.[422] The booster B1051.1 replaced B1050[423] and flew again on June 12. | |||||||||
| FH 2 | April 11, 2019 22:35[424] |
Falcon Heavy B1055 core[424] |
KSC LC-39A |
Arabsat-6A[425] | 6,465 kg (14,253 lb)[426] |
GTO | Arabsat | Success | Success[i] (drone ship) |
| B1052.1 (side) |
Success (ground pad) | ||||||||
| B1053.1 (side) |
Success (ground pad) | ||||||||
| Second flight of Falcon Heavy, the first commercial flight, and the first one using Block 5 boosters. SpaceX successfully landed the side boosters at Landing Zone 1 and LZ2 and reused the side boosters later for the STP-2 mission. The central core landed on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, located 967 km downrange, the furthest sea landing so far attempted.[428][better source needed] Despite the successful landing, due to rough seas the central core was unable to be secured to the deck for recovery and later tipped overboard in transit.[429][430] SpaceX recovered the fairing from this launch and later reused it in the November 2019 Starlink launch.[431][432] Arabsat-6A, a 6,465 kg Saudi satellite, is the most advanced commercial communications satellite so far built by Lockheed Martin.[433] The Falcon Heavy delivered the Arabsat-6A into a supersynchronous transfer orbit with 90,000 km (56,000 mi) apogee with an inclination of 23 degrees to the equator.[434] | |||||||||
| 70 | May 4, 2019 06:48 |
F9 B5 B1056.1[423] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-17[145] (Dragon C113.2) |
2,495 kg (5,501 lb)[435][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| A Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station carrying nearly 2.5 tons of cargo including the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 as an external payload.[435] Originally planned to land at Landing Zone 1, the landing was moved to the drone ship after a Dragon 2 had an anomaly during testing at LZ-1.[436] | |||||||||
| 71 | May 24, 2019 02:30 |
F9 B5 ♺ B1049.3[437] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Starlink v0.9 (60 satellites) |
13,620 kg (30,030 lb)[6] |
LEO | SpaceX | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Following the launch of the two Tintin test satellites, this was the first full-scale test launch of the Starlink constellation, launching "production design" satellites.[438][439][440] Each Starlink satellite has a mass of 227 kg,[441] and the combined launch mass was 13,620 kg the heaviest payload launched by SpaceX at that time.[442] The fairings were recovered[443] and reused for Starlink L5 in March 2020.[444] These are the first commercial satellites to use krypton as fuel for their ion thrusters, which is cheaper than the usual xenon fuel.[445] | |||||||||
| 72 | June 12, 2019 14:17 |
F9 B5 ♺ B1051.2[423] |
VAFB SLC-4E |
RADARSAT Constellation (3 satellites) |
4,200 kg (9,300 lb) [446] |
SSO | Canadian Space Agency | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| A trio of satellites built for Canada's RADARSAT program were launched that plan to replace the aging RADARSAT-1 and 2. The new satellites contain Automated Identification System (AIS) for locating ships.[446] The mission was originally scheduled to lift off in February but due to the landing failure of booster B1050, this flight was switched to B1051 (used on SpX-DM1) and delayed to allow refurbishment and transport to the West coast.[423] The booster landed safely through fog.[447] A payload cost of roughly $1 billion made this SpaceX's second most expensive payload launched[448][449] and most valuable commercial payload so far put into orbit.[450] | |||||||||
| FH 3 | June 25, 2019 06:30[451] |
Falcon Heavy B1057 core[423] |
KSC LC-39A |
Space Test Program Flight 2 (STP-2) | 3,700 kg (8,200 lb) |
LEO / MEO | U.S. Air Force | Success | Failure (drone ship) |
| B1052.2 (side) ♺ |
Success (ground pad) | ||||||||
| B1053.2 (side) ♺ |
Success (ground pad) | ||||||||
| USAF Space Test Program Flight 2 (STP-2)[78] carried 24 small satellites,[452] including: FormoSat-7 A/B/C/D/E/F integrated using EELV Secondary Payload Adapter,[453] DSX, Prox-1[454] GPIM,[455] DSAC,[456] ISAT, SET,[457] COSMIC-2, Oculus-ASR, OBT, NPSat,[458] and several CubeSats including E-TBEx,[459] LightSail 2,[460] TEPCE, PSAT, and three ELaNa 15 CubeSats. Total payload mass was 3,700 kg.[461] The mission lasted six hours during which the second stage ignited four times and went into different orbits to deploy satellites including a "propulsive passivation maneuver".[458][462]
The side boosters from the Arabsat-6A mission just 2.5 months before were reused on this flight and successfully returned to LZ-1 and LZ-2.[423] The center core, in use for the first time, underwent the most energetic reentry attempted by SpaceX, and attempted a landing over 1,200 km (750 mi) downrange, 30% further than any previous landing.[463] This core suffered a thrust vector control failure in the center engine caused by a breach in the engine bay due to the extreme heat. The core thus failed its landing attempt on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You due to lack of control when the outer engines shut down.[464] For the first time one fairing half was successfully landed on the catch-net of the support ship GO Ms. Tree (formerly Mr. Steven).[465] | |||||||||
| 73 | July 25, 2019 22:01[466] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1056.2[467] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-18[145] (Dragon C108.3) |
2,268 kg (5,000 lb)[466][c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| This launch carried nearly 9,000 individual unique payloads including over one ton of science experiments, the most so far launched on a SpaceX Dragon. The third International Docking Adapter (IDA-3), a replacement for the first IDA lost during the CRS-7 launch anomaly, was one of the external payloads on this mission.[468] Along with food and science, the Dragon also carried the ELaNa 27 RFTSat CubeSat[469] and MakerSat-1 which will be used to demonstrate microgravity additive manufacturing. The satellite is expected to be launched by a Cygnus dispenser later in July.
The booster used on this flight was the same used on CRS-17 earlier in the year; originally, it was planned to reuse it again for the CRS-19 mission later this year,[470] but the plan was scrapped. For the first time, the twice flown Dragon spacecraft also made a third flight.[471] Also used for the first time was a gray-band painted where the RP-1 kerosene tank is located, to help with thermal conductivity and thus saving fuel during long coasts.[472] | |||||||||
| 74 | August 6, 2019 23:23[473] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1047.3[474] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
AMOS-17[475] | 6,500 kg (14,300 lb)[476] |
GTO | Spacecom | Success | No attempt[476] |
| Following the loss of AMOS-6 in September 2016, Spacecom was granted a free launch in compensation for the lost satellite.[477] Due to the free launch, Spacecom was able to expend the booster with no extra cost that comes with expending a booster, and thus could reach final orbit quicker. This booster became the second Block 5 booster to be expended.[476][478] For the second time, Ms. Tree managed to catch a fairing half directly into its net.[479] | |||||||||
| 75 | November 11, 2019 14:56[480] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1048.4 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Starlink 1 v1.0 (60 satellites) | 15,600 kg (34,400 lb)[6] |
LEO | SpaceX | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Second large batch of Starlink satellites and the first operational mission of the constellation, it launched in a roughly 290 kilometres (180 mi) orbit at an inclination of 53°. At 15,600 kg, it is the heaviest payload so far launched by SpaceX, breaking the record set by the Starlink v0.9 flight earlier that year.[6] This flight marked the first time that a Falcon 9 booster made a fourth flight and landing.[481] This was also the first time that a Falcon 9 re-used fairings (from ArabSat-6A in April 2019).[432] It was planned to recover the fairings with both Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief but the plan was abandoned due to rough seas.[6] | |||||||||
| 76 | December 5, 2019 17:29[482] |
F9 B5 B1059.1[483] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-19[484] (Dragon C106.3) |
2,617 kg (5,769 lb) [c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Second re-supply flight to use a Cargo Dragon for the third time.[485] This flight carried Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS), a docking station that allows equipment that looks for leaks on the Space Station be stored on the outside. Also on board were upgrades for the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL). Onboard experiments include the testing of the spread of fire in space, mating barley in microgravity and experiments to test muscle and bone growth in microgravity.[486] Secondary payloads include the Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI), an experiment to image high resolution across all colours of the light spectrum, allowing for imaging of soil, rocks, vegetation, snow, ice and man-made objects. Additionally, there were three CubeSats from NASA's ELaNa 28 mission,[383] including the AztechSat-1 satellite built by students in Mexico.[486] | |||||||||
| 77 | December 17, 2019 00:10[487] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1056.3[483] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
JCSat-18 / Kacific 1[488] | 6,956 kg (15,335 lb)[487] |
GTO | Sky Perfect JSAT Kacific |
Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Singaporean-Japanese CondoSat that will cover the Asia-Pacific region.[489] Due to the heavy weight of the payload, it was injected into a lower energy sub-synchronous orbit of 20,000 km; the satellite itself will transfer to full GTO. This was the third Falcon 9 launch for JSAT and the previous two were in 2016. SpaceX successfully landed B1056.3 but both fairing halves missed the recovery boats Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief.[490] | |||||||||
2020
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site |
Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | January 7, 2020 02:33[491] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1049.4 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Starlink 2 v1.0 (60 satellites) | 15,600 kg (34,400 lb)[6] |
LEO | SpaceX | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Third large batch and second operational flight of Starlink constellation. One of the 60 satellites included a test coating to make the satellite less reflective, and thus less likely to interfere with ground-based astronomical observations.[492] | |||||||||
| 79 | January 19, 2020 15:30[493] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1046.4 |
KSC LC-39A |
Crew Dragon in-flight abort test[494] (Dragon C205) |
12,050 kg (26,570 lb) |
Sub-orbital[495] | NASA (CTS)[496] | Success | No attempt |
| An atmospheric test of the Dragon 2 abort system after Max Q. The capsule fired its SuperDraco engines, reached an apogee of 40 km (25 mi), deployed parachutes after reentry, and splashed down in the ocean 31 km (19 mi) downrange from the launch site. The test was previously slated to be accomplished with the SpX-DM1 capsule;[497] but that test article exploded during a ground test of SuperDraco engines on April 20, 2019.[422] The abort test used the capsule originally intended for the first crewed flight.[498] As expected, the booster was destroyed by aerodynamic forces after the capsule aborted.[499] | |||||||||
| 80 | January 29, 2020 14:07[500] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1051.3 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Starlink 3 v1.0 (60 satellites) | 15,600 kg (34,400 lb)[6] |
LEO | SpaceX | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Third operational and fourth large batch of Starlink satellites, deployed in a circular 290 km orbit. One of the fairing halves was caught, while the other was fished out of the ocean.[501] | |||||||||
| 81 | February 17, 2020 15:05[502] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1056.4 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Starlink 4 v1.0 (60 satellites) | 15,600 kg (34,400 lb)[6] |
LEO | SpaceX | Success | Failure (drone ship) |
| Fourth operational and fifth large batch of Starlink satellites. Used a new flight profile which deployed into a 212×386 km elliptical orbit instead of launching into a circular orbit and firing the second stage engine twice. The first stage booster failed to land on the drone ship[503] due to incorrect wind data.[504] This was the first time a flight proven booster failed to land. | |||||||||
| 82 | March 7, 2020 04:50[505] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1059.2 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
SpaceX CRS-20 (Dragon C112.3) |
1,977 kg (4,359 lb)[506] [c] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | Success | Success (ground pad) |
| Last launch of phase 1 of the CRS contract. Carries Bartolomeo, an ESA platform for hosting external payloads onto ISS.[507] Originally scheduled to launch on March 2, the launch date was pushed back due to a second stage engine failure. SpaceX decided to swap out the second stage instead of replacing the faulty part. It was SpaceX's 50th successful landing of a first stage booster, the third flight of the Dragon C112 and the last launch of the cargo Dragon spacecraft. | |||||||||
| 83 | March 18, 2020 12:16[508] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1048.5 |
KSC LC-39A |
Starlink 5 v1.0 (60 satellites) | 15,600 kg (34,400 lb)[6] |
LEO | SpaceX | Success | Failure (drone ship) |
| Fifth operational launch of Starlink satellites. It was the first time a first stage booster flew for a fifth time and the second time the fairings were reused (Starlink flight in May 2019).[509] Towards the end for the first stage burn, the booster suffered premature shut down of an engine, the first of a Merlin 1D variant and first since the CRS-1 mission in October 2012. However, the payload still reached the targeted orbit.[510] This was the second Starlink launch booster landing failure in a row, later revealed to be caused by residual cleaning fluid trapped inside a sensor.[511] | |||||||||
| 84 | April 22, 2020 19:30[512] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1051.4 |
KSC LC-39A |
Starlink 6 v1.0 (60 satellites) | 15,600 kg (34,400 lb)[6] |
LEO | SpaceX | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Sixth operational launch of Starlink satellites. The 84th flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, it surpassed Atlas V to become the most-flown operational US rocket.[513] Used fairings launched on AMOS-17 (August 2019).[514] | |||||||||
| 85 | May 30, 2020 19:22[515] |
F9 B5 B1058.1[516] |
KSC LC-39A |
SpX-DM2[417] (Crew Dragon C206 Endeavour) |
~12,000 kg (26,000 lb)[418][better source needed] |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CCDev) | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| First crewed orbital spaceflight from American soil since Space Shuttle STS-135 in July 2011, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station.[417] The SpaceX live stream was peaked at 4.1 million viewers, while NASA estimated roughly 10 million people watched on various online platforms, and approximately 150,000 people gathered on Florida's space coast.[517] | |||||||||
| 86 | June 4, 2020 01:25[518] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1049.5 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Starlink 7 v1.0 (60 satellites) | 15,600 kg (34,400 lb)[6] |
LEO | SpaceX | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Seventh operational launch of Starlink satellites, occurred on the 10th anniversary of the first Falcon 9 flight. Included "VisorSat" satellite test that uses a sunshade to limit reflectivity.[519] First booster to successfully land five times, and first to land on Just Read The Instructions since it was moved to the East Coast. | |||||||||
| 87 | June 13, 2020 09:21[520] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1059.3 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Starlink 8 v1.0 (58 satellites),[521][522] SkySats 16, 17 and 18 |
15,410 kg (33,970 lb)[520] |
LEO | SpaceX Planet Labs |
Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Eighth operational launch of Starlink satellites. Included SkySats 16, 17 and 18 as rideshare payloads, the first one in SpaceX's SmallSat Rideshare Program.[523][524] One payload fairing half launched on JCSat-18 / Kacific 1 mission in December 2019. The other payload fairing half flew on Starlink 2 v1.0 in January 2020.[525] For the first time, SpaceX did not perform a static fire before launch. | |||||||||
| 88 | June 30, 2020 20:10[526] |
F9 B5 B1060.1 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
GPS III-03 (Columbus)[392] | 4,311 kg (9,504 lb)[527] |
MEO | U.S. Space Force[527] | Success | Success (drone ship) |
| Manufacturing contract awarded January 2012,[528] was fully assembled in August 2017,[529][530] and completed thermal vacuum testing in June 2018.[531] The launch contract was awarded to SpaceX for $96.5 million,[532] but later, this price was discounted in exchange for allowing to launch configuration enabling booster recovery.[533] The Columbus GPS III vehicle was transported to Florida in February 2020.[534] The launch was delayed by the customer from April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[535] This flight was dedicated to the memory of the late commander of the 45th Operations Group, COL Thomas G. Falzarano, who died unexpectedly on 13 May 2020.[536][537] The second stage featured a gray band to allow more heat to be absorbed during the longer coasting period, while both fairings were recovered out of the water without attempting a catch in the net.[538] | |||||||||
Future launches
Future launches are listed chronologically when firm plans are in place. The order of the later launches is much less certain, as the official SpaceX manifest does not include a schedule.[539] Tentative launch dates are cited from various sources for each launch.[540][541] Launches are expected to take place "no earlier than" (NET) the listed date.
2020
In late 2019, Gwynne Shotwell stated that SpaceX hopes for as many as 24 launches for Starlink satellites in 2020,[397] in addition to 14 or 15 non-Starlink launches. She noted that second stages may need to be built slightly faster in order to allow SpaceX to aim for a total of 35 to 38 flights for the year.[542]
| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 8, 2020 15:59[541] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1051.5 |
KSC LC-39A |
Starlink 9 v1.0 (57 Satellites),[521] BlackSky Global 5 and 6 |
LEO | SpaceX BlackSky |
| Ninth operational launch of Starlink satellites. This mission will carry 57 Starlink Satellites and carry two BlackSky Global 5 and 6 satellites as rideshare[543] After previously testing on a single Starlink, the launch will have all 57 satellites include a "VisorSat" to reduce their brightness.[544] | |||||
| July 14, 2020[541] | F9 B5 ♺ B1058.2[545] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
ANASIS II (formerly known as KMilSatCom 1) | GTO | Republic of Korea Army |
| At 5-6 tonnes, it will be South Korea's first dedicated military satellite. Contracted by South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration in 2014.[546] | |||||
| July 25, 2020 23:19[547] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1059.4[545] |
CCAFS SLC-40[548] |
SAOCOM 1B[367] Capella 2 (Sequoia) GNOMES 1[549] |
SSO | CONAE Capella Space PlanetiQ |
| Deployment of Earth-observing satellites built by Argentina's space agency CONAE. SpaceX was contracted in 2009 for an initial launch as early as 2013.[550] Originally planned for launch from Vandenberg, it is the first flight to a polar orbit from Cape Canaveral since 1960.[548] Will include a Sequoia smallsat rideshare.[551] | |||||
| Late July 2020[541] | F9 B5 ♺ B1049.6[545] |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
Starlink 10 v1.0 SkySat-19, -20, -21 |
LEO | SpaceX Planet Labs |
| Starlink flight including SkySat-19, -20, -21 rideshare[523] | |||||
| August 2020 [552] delayed[540] |
F9 B5 ♺ B1060.2[545] |
CC, 39A or 40 | SXM 7[539] | GTO | Sirius XM |
| The large, high-power broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM's digital audio radio service (DARS) is being built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). It will operate in the S-band spectrum and will replace the SXM-3 satellite. It will generate more than 20 kW of power and will have a large unfoldable antenna reflector, which enables broadcast to radios without the need for large dish-type antennas on the ground.[553] | |||||
| August 30, 2020[540][554] | F9 B5 B1061.1[555] |
KSC, LC-39A |
Crew-1 (Crew Dragon C207) |
LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS)[496] |
| First crew rotation of the commercial crew program, expected to occur a month after the return of the manned test flight of the Crew Demo 2 mission. Will carry astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi, for a 6 months-long stay aboard the ISS. The Crew Dragon was intended to dock while Boeing CST-100 Starliner was still docked from the extended CFT, to perform a direct handover.[556] However, due to Boeing OFT mishap, the Crew Flight Test was delayed and Boeing re-flight, OFT-2 is expected to dock during Crew-1.[557] The first flight of the crew program was initially expected to launch in 2017.[558] | |||||
| September 30, 2020[540] | F9 B5 B1062.1 |
CCAFS SLC-40 |
GPS III-04[559][390] | MEO | U.S. Space Force[527] |
| Manufacturing contract awarded January 2012,[528] and underwent thermal vacuum testing in December 2018.[560] The Request For Proposal (RFP) for launch services was published in June 2017, and proposals were due in August 2017.[561] In March 2018, the Air Force announced it had awarded the launch contract for three GPS satellites to SpaceX.[562] | |||||
| Q4 2020[540][563] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Türksat 5A[564] | GTO | Türksat |
| A 3500 kg satellite intended to be stationed at 31.0° East.[564] Will provide Ku-band television broadcast services over Turkey, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.[540] | |||||
| 2020[565] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | SXM 8[539] | GTO | Sirius XM |
| A large, high-power broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM's digital audio radio service (DARS) contracted together with SXM-7 to replace the aging XM-4 satellite and allow broadcast to radios without the need for large dish-type antennas on the ground.[553] | |||||
| Q4 2020[566] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | GPS III-05[390] | MEO | U.S. Space Force[527] |
| Manufacturing contract awarded February 2013,[567] and core mating was progress in December 2018.[560] In March 2018, the Air Force announced it had awarded the launch contract for three GPS satellites to SpaceX.[568][561] | |||||
| October 30, 2020[540] | F9 B5 | CCAFS SLC-40 | SpaceX CRS-21 | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) |
| First launch of phase 2 of the CRS contract, which will use Cargo version of the Dragon 2 spacecraft. Contract was signed in 2015, for a first scheduled launch in 2019. Will include various payloads including: Bishop Airlock Module and cubesats for ELaNa 33.[569][383] | |||||
| November 2020[570] | F9 B5 | VAFB, SLC-4E[570] | Jason-CS (Sentinel-6A)[570] | LEO | NASA |
| This radar altimeter satellite is a follow-up of Jason 3 mission as a partnership between the US (NOAA and NASA), Europe (EUMETSAT, ESA, CNES) and industry.[571] | |||||
| November 2020–September 2021[572] | F9 B5 | VAFB, SLC-4E | SARah 1[573][574] Co-passenger to be announced.[574] |
SSO | German Intelligence Service |
| Phased-array-antenna satellite intended to upgrade the German SAR-Lupe surveillance satellites.[573] | |||||
| November 2020[575] | F9 B5 ♺ | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare[575] | LEO | SpaceX |
| Currently, first advertised rideshare mission, with an orbit above 190 km and inclination of 53°.[575] | |||||
| Q4 2020 [576][540] | Falcon Heavy[577] | KSC, LC-39A | USSF-44 [578] | GEO[579] | U.S. Space Force |
| Classified payload totaling 3.75 metric tons. Secondary payload Tetra-1.[580] Will use three new boosters, and first Heavy launch specifically designated to be partially expendable, with two side-boosters targeting a simultaneous landing on droneships.[581] First SpaceX mission directly to geostationary orbit. | |||||
| December 1, 2020[383][575] | F9 B5 ♺ | CC, 39A or 40 | Starlink with ELaNa 35 (PTD-1)[383][575] | LEO | SpaceX |
| December 16, 2020[582][575] | F9 B5 | CC, 39A or 40[583] or VAFB 4E[citation needed] | SmallSat Rideshare Mission 1 | SSO | Various |
| First dedicated smallsat rideshare launch, targeting a 525 km high orbit.[575] Originally announced for October 2020, it will include payloads like Amber Road, Aurora Cubesat, Lemur-2 (x 8), NanoRacks Outpost Demonstration,[584] and multiple Kepler nanosats as part of its planned 140 satellite constellation.[585] Nanoracks will deploy eight small satellites together with an in-space Outpost-demonstration involving structural metal cutting.[584] Exolaunch will deploy several smaller satellites and cubesats via its own deployment mechanisms.[586] Momentus has also contracted payloads for five SSO launches.[587][588] | |||||
| Q4 2020[589] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | MicroGeo (secondary payload)[590] | GTO | Astranis |
| This small (360 kilograms (800 lb)) geostationary satellite intends to provide 7.5 Gbit/s of bandwidth to Alaska, in partnership with Pacific Dataport, starting in 2021.[591] | |||||
2021
SpaceX aims to have up to 54 launches for Falcon 9 and another 10 for Falcon Heavy for 2021 from Florida according to its environmental assessment.[592]
| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| February 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| Q1 2021[531] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | GPS III-06[390] | MEO | U.S. Space Force[527] |
| Space vehicle manufacturing contract awarded February 2013.[567] In September 2018, the space vehicle was integrating harnesses.[531] In March 2018, the Air Force announced it had awarded the launch contract for three GPS satellites to SpaceX.[561] | |||||
| February 2021[593] | Falcon Heavy | KSC LC-39A | USSF-52 | GTO | U.S. Space Force |
| Classified payload contract awarded in June 2018 for $130 million.[594] Draft solicitation said the launch was 6,350 kg to GTO.[595] | |||||
| February 2021[575] | F9 B5 | VAFB SLC-4E | SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Mission 2 | SSO | Various |
| Momentus has reserved payloads on five SSO launches.[587] | |||||
| March 2021[596] | F9 B5 | CCAFS, SLC-40 | SpaceX CRS-22 | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) |
| In 2015, NASA awarded SpaceX a minimum of six new cargo missions under the CRS2 contract after the initial 20 missions of phase 1, which will be flown with an uncrewed Dragon 2 capsule.[596] | |||||
| March 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| Q2 2021[563][597] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Türksat 5B | GTO | Türksat |
| The first GTO satellite partially built in Turkey, the 4,500 kg satellite is intended to be placed at 42° E.[598] | |||||
| H1 2021[599][600] | F9 B5 ♺[600] | VAFB SLC-4E | WorldView Legion Mission 1[600] | SSO | DigitalGlobe |
| April 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| April 2021[601] | F9 B5 ♺ | KSC LC-39A | Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)[601] | LEO | NASA (LSP) |
| Three identical NASA telescopes on a single spacecraft, designed to measure X-Rays. The launch contract was awarded to SpaceX for $50.3 million.[601] | |||||
| May 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| May 2021 [needs update] |
F9 B5♺ | KSC LC-39A | USCV-3 | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS)[496] |
| Second operational flight of Crew Dragon for Commercial Crew Program. Will transport four astronauts to the ISS who will spend 6 months aboard the ISS. Starting on USCV-3 SpaceX is allowed to fly astronauts in re-used Dragon capsules with reused boosters.[602] | |||||
| May 29, 2021[603] | Falcon Heavy | KSC LC-39A | ViaSat-3 class[604][605] | GEO | ViaSat |
| This mission will inject the satellite in close proximity to geostationary orbit, thus allowing it to be operational faster. Satellites of the ViaSat-3 class use electric propulsion, which requires less fuel for stationkeeping operations over their lifetime, but would need several months to raise its orbit from GTO to GEO.[605] | |||||
| June 2021[575] | F9 B5 | VAFB SLC-4E | SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Mission 3 | SSO | Various |
| Momentus has reserved payloads on five SSO launches.[587] | |||||
| June 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| July 22, 2021[606] | F9 B5 | VAFB SLC-4E | Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)[607] | Heliocentric | NASA (LSP) |
| The Double Asteroid Redirection Test will measure the kinetic effects of crashing an impactor into the surface of an asteroid. It will be the first mission to demonstrate asteroid redirect capability.[607] | |||||
| July 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| August 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| September 2021[608][609] | F9 B5 | VAFB SLC-4E[609] | Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT)[609] | LEO | NASA |
| American-European satellite intended to measure the surface altitude of water bodies with centimeter-level precision.[610] | |||||
| September 2021[572][611] | F9 B5 | VAFB SLC-4E | SARah 2/3[573][611] | SSO | German Intelligence Service |
| Expected to launch between November 2020 and September 2021. | |||||
| September 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| October 11, 2021[612] | F9 B5 | KSC LC-39A | Intuitive Machines Nova-C lunar lander, Hakuto-R Moon lander (secondary payload)[613][614] | TLI | NASA (CLPS) |
| First mission of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and would be the first private American company to land a spacecraft on the Moon. The lander is expected to carry up to 100 kg (220 lb) of payloads and transmit data from the lunar surface in a mission lasting 2 weeks.[615][616] ispace's Hakuto-R (for Reboot) is derived from the Hakuto project that was one of the defunct Google Lunar X Prize contestants. The rebooted project aims to launch a lander in 2021 and a rover in 2023, both as secondary payloads on other unspecified Falcon 9 missions.[613][617] | |||||
| October 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| November 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| December 2021[578] | F9 B5 | CCAFS SLC-40 | NROL-85 | LEO[618] | NRO |
| Classified mission awarded to SpaceX in February 2019.[619] | |||||
| December 2021[575] | F9 B5 | CC 39A or 40 | Starlink possibly with smallsat rideshare | LEO | SpaceX |
| December 2021[578] | F9 B5 | VAFB SLC-4E | NROL-87 | SSO[618] | NRO |
| Classified payload | |||||
| December 2021[575] | F9 B5 | VAFB SLC-4E | SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Mission 4 | SSO | Various |
| Momentus has reserved payloads on five SSO launches.[587] | |||||
| H2 2021[620] | F9 B5 | KSC LC-39A | Axiom Space Dragon mission 1 (Dragon C2xx) |
LEO (ISS) | Axiom Space |
| Announced in March 2020, the flight will be the first fully private flight to the ISS.[621] Crew Dragon will carry one Axiom professional astronaut and three private astronauts at around $55 million per seat for a 10-day trip. One seat has already been reserved.[622] | |||||
| 2021[600] | F9 B5 ♺[600] | VAFB SLC-4E | WorldView Legion Mission 2[600] | SSO | DigitalGlobe |
| 2021 | F9 B5 | O3b mPOWER | MEO | SES | |
| First part of SES' seven MEO satellites for its proven O3b low-latency, high-performance connectivity services.[623][624] | |||||
| 2021 | F9 B5 | O3b mPOWER | MEO | SES | |
| Second part of SES' seven MEO satellites for its proven O3b low-latency, high-performance connectivity services.[623][624] | |||||
| Q2 2021[625] | F9 B5 | NationSat (shared launch) | GTO | Nationsat | |
| First small geostationary satellite platform, had aimed for a June 2020 launch.[626] | |||||
| Late 2021 to mid 2022[627] | Space Adventures Dragon Mission | LEO | Space Adventures | ||
| SpaceX signed in February 2020, its first commercial flight for a manned spacecraft with the Virginia-based company that had flown seven space tourists between 2001 and 2009. The flight will be around 3 days, up to 5 days, on an elliptical orbit with the apogee three times that of the ISS, and up to four space tourists with a price per seat of around $50M.[627][628] | |||||
| 2021–2024[596] (4 launches) |
F9 B5 | CCAFS SLC-40 | SpaceX CRS-23, 24, 25, 26[596] | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) |
| In 2015, NASA awarded SpaceX a minimum of six new cargo missions under the CRS2 contract after the initial 20 missions of phase 1, which will be flown with an uncrewed Dragon 2 capsule.[596] | |||||
| 2021[629] | F9 or Falcon Heavy | KSC LC-39A | Inmarsat-6B | Inmarsat | |
| Inmarsat maintained its launch option after its a scheduled 2016 Falcon Heavy launch (a European Aviation Network satellite) was switched for an Ariane 5 launch in 2017.[630] This option may be used for launching Inmarsat-6B in 2021,[629] and, as of April 2020[update], SpaceX's launch manifest listed Inmarsat for a Falcon 9 launch.[631] | |||||
2022
SpaceX aims to have over 60 launches every year from Florida alone according to an environmental assessment.[592]
| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–2026 (4 launches) |
F9 B5 ♺ | KSC LC-39A | Four more USCV launches for CTS program | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS)[496] |
| Pending success of SpX-DM2, NASA has awarded six missions with Crew Dragon to carry up to four astronauts and 100 kg (220 lb) of cargo to the ISS as well as feature a lifeboat function to evacuate astronauts from ISS in case of an emergency.[496] | |||||
| July 2022[632] | Falcon Heavy | KSC LC-39A | Psyche [633] | Heliocentric | NASA (Discovery) |
| A Discovery Program mission designed to explore asteroid 16 Psyche. The asteroid is hoped to show what the early solar system looked like and how planets formed.[634] | |||||
| July 2022[635][636] | F9 B5 | CCAFS SLC-40 | Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO)[637] | TLI | KARI |
| South Korea's first lunar mission.[637] | |||||
| Late 2022[638] | F9 B5 | VAFB SLC-4E | HEOSAT | HEO | Space Norway |
| Space Norway will launch 2 satellites of the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) system into highly elliptical orbits (apogee 43,000 km, perigee 8,000 km[639]) to provide communication coverage to high latitudes not served by geosynchronous satellites.[638] | |||||
| 2022[640] | F9 B5 | LC-39A or SLC-40 | Nilesat-301[640] | GTO | Nilesat |
| Built by Thales Alenia Space, the Egyptian satellite will be stationed at 7° West.[640] | |||||
| 2022 | F9 B5 | LC-39A or SLC-40 | Intelsat 40e | GTO | Intelsat |
| Maxar Technologies built satellite that will service North and Central America.[641] | |||||
| December 2022[642] | Falcon Heavy | KSC LC-39A | Power and Propulsion Element[642] | TLI | NASA (Artemis) |
| First element for the Lunar Orbiting Platform and Gateway station as part of the Artemis program. | |||||
| December 2022[643] | F9 B5 ♺ | CCAFS SLC-40 | PACE | SSO | NASA (LSP) |
| Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem is a 1.7 tonne, $800 million craft that will orbit at 676 km altitude. It will include the Ocean Color Imager intended to study phytoplankton in the ocean, and two polarimeters for studying properties of clouds, aerosols and the ocean. The launch price was $80.4 million.[644] | |||||
2023 and beyond
| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster[b] |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2023[617][645] | F9 B5 | LC-39A or SLC-40 | Hakuto-R Moon lander (secondary payload)[613][646] | TLI | ispace |
| ispace's Hakuto-R (for Reboot) is derived from the Hakuto project that was one of the defunct Google Lunar X Prize contestants. The rebooted project aims to launch a lander in 2021 and a rover in 2023, both as secondary payloads on other unspecified Falcon 9 missions.[613][617] | |||||
| NET 2024[647][648] | Falcon Heavy | KSC LC-39A | At least two Dragon XL flights | TLI | NASA (Gateway Logistics Services) |
| In March 2020, NASA announced its first contract for the Gateway Logistics Services that guarantees at least two launches on a modified Crew Dragon spacecraft that will carry over 5 tonnes of cargo to the Lunar orbit on 6–12 months long missions.[649] | |||||
Notable launches
First flight of Falcon 9
Launch of Falcon 9 Flight 1 with a boilerplate Dragon
On 4 June 2010, the first Falcon 9 launch successfully placed a test payload into the intended orbit.[12] Starting at the moment of liftoff, the booster experienced roll.[650] The roll stopped before the craft reached the top of the tower, but the second stage began to roll near the end of its burn,[12] tumbling out of control during the passivation process and creating a gaseous halo of vented propellant that could be seen from all of Eastern Australia, raising UFO concerns.[651][652]
COTS demo missions
COTS-1 Dragon after return from orbit
The second launch of Falcon 9 was COTS Demo Flight 1 testing an operational Dragon capsule. The launch took place on 8 December 2010.[653] The booster placed the Dragon spacecraft in a roughly 300-kilometer (190 mi) orbit. After two orbits, the capsule re-entered the atmosphere to be recovered off the coast of Mexico.[654] This flight tested the pressure vessel integrity, attitude control using the Draco thrusters, telemetry, guidance, navigation, control systems, and the PICA-X heat shield, and intended to test the parachutes at speed. The "secret" test payload on this mission was a wheel of cheese.[18] The capsule is now on display at SpaceX headquarters.[655]
The NASA COTS qualification program included two more test flights; Demo 2 and Demo 3 whose objectives were combined into a single Dragon C2+ mission,[656] on the condition that all Demo 2 milestones would be validated in space before proceeding with the ultimate demonstration goal: berthing Dragon to the International Space Station (ISS) and delivering its cargo. After clearing a few readiness delays and a launch abort, the Dragon capsule was propelled to orbit on May 22, 2012, and tested its positioning system, solar panels, grapple fixture and proximity navigation sensors. Over the next two days, the spacecraft performed a series of maneuvers to catch up to the ISS orbit and prove its rendezvous capabilities at safe distances. On May 24, all the Demo 2 milestones had been successfully cleared and NASA approved the extended mission. On May 25, Dragon performed a series of close approach maneuvers until reaching its final hold position a mere 9 meters (30 ft) away from the Harmony nadir docking port.[657] Astronaut Don Pettit subsequently grabbed the spacecraft with the station's robotic arm. On the next day, May 26 at 09:53 UTC, Pettit opened the hatch and remarked that Dragon "smells like a brand new car."[658] Over the next few days, ISS crew unloaded the incoming cargo and filled Dragon with Earth-bound items such as experiment samples and unneeded hardware. The spacecraft was released on May 31 at 09:49 UTC and successfully completed all the return procedures: unberthing, maneuvering away from the ISS, deorbit burn, trunk jettison, atmospheric reentry, parachute deployment, and ocean splashdown.[659] The Dragon C2+ capsule is now on display at Kennedy Space Center.[660]
With successful completion of these demo missions, Falcon 9 became the first fully commercially developed launcher to deliver a payload to the International Space Station, paving the way for SpaceX and NASA to sign the first Commercial Resupply Services agreement for 12 cargo deliveries starting in October 2012.[661]
CRS-1
Dragon CRS-1 berthed to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 14, 2012, photographed from the Cupola
The first operational cargo resupply mission to ISS, the fourth flight of Falcon 9, was launched on October 7, 2012. At 76 seconds after liftoff, engine 1 of the first stage suffered a loss of pressure which caused an automatic shutdown of that engine. The remaining eight first-stage engines continued to burn and the Dragon capsule reached orbit successfully. This was the first demonstration of the rocket's "engine out" capability in flight.[662][663] As per ISS visiting vehicle safety rules, the primary payload owner, NASA, was contractually allowed to decline a second reignition, and due to safety regulations required by NASA, the secondary Orbcomm-2 satellite payload was released into a lower-than-intended orbit.[28] Despite the incident, Orbcomm said they gathered useful test data from the mission and planned to send more satellites via SpaceX,[27] which happened in July 2014 and December 2015. The mission continued to rendezvous and berth the Dragon capsule with the ISS where the ISS crew unloaded its payload and reloaded the spacecraft with cargo for return to Earth.[664]
Maiden flight of v1.1
SpaceX launched the maiden flight of the Falcon 9 v1.1 (also termed Block 2[665])—an essentially new launch vehicle, much larger and with greater thrust than Falcon 9 v1.0—on September 29, 2013, a demonstration launch.[666] Although the rocket carried CASSIOPE as a primary payload, CASSIOPE had a payload mass that is very small relative to the rocket's capability, and it did so at a discounted rate—approximately 20% of the normal published price for SpaceX Falcon 9 LEO missions—because the flight was a technology demonstration mission for SpaceX.[667][668][32]
After the second stage separated from the booster stage, SpaceX conducted a novel high-altitude, high-velocity flight test, wherein the booster attempted to reenter the lower atmosphere in a controlled manner and decelerate to a simulated over-water landing. The test was successful, but the booster stage was not recovered.[32]
Loss of CRS-7 mission
SpaceX CRS-7 disintegrating two minutes after liftoff, as seen from a NASA tracking camera
On June 28, 2015, Falcon 9 Flight 19 carried a Dragon capsule on the seventh Commercial Resupply Services mission to the ISS. The second stage disintegrated due to an internal helium tank failure while the first stage was still burning normally. This was the first primary mission loss for any Falcon 9 rocket.[97] In addition to ISS consumables and experiments, this mission carried the first International Docking Adapter (IDA-1), whose loss delayed preparedness of the stations's US Orbital Segment for future crewed missions.[669]
Performance was nominal until T+140 seconds into launch when a cloud of white vapor appeared, followed by rapid loss of second-stage LOX tank pressure. The booster continued on its trajectory until complete vehicle breakup at T+150 seconds. The Dragon capsule was ejected from the disintegrating rocket and continued transmitting data until impact with the ocean. SpaceX officials stated that the capsule could have been recovered if the parachutes had deployed; however, the Dragon software did not include any provisions for parachute deployment in this situation.[99] Subsequent investigations traced the cause of the accident to the failure of a strut that secured a helium bottle inside the second-stage LOX tank. With the helium pressurization system integrity breached, excess helium quickly flooded the tank, eventually causing it to burst from overpressure.[670][671] NASA's independent accident investigation into the loss of SpaceX CRS-7 found that the failure of the strut which led to the breakup of the Falcon-9 represented a design error. Specifically, that industrial grade stainless steel had been used in a critical load path under cryogenic conditions and flight conditions, without additional part screening, and without regard to manufacturer recommendations.[672]
Full-thrust version and first booster landings
After pausing launches for months, SpaceX launched on December 22, 2015, the highly anticipated return-to-flight mission after the loss of CRS-7. This launch inaugurated a new Falcon 9 Full Thrust version (also initially termed Block 3[665]) of its flagship rocket featuring increased performance, notably thanks to subcooling of the propellants. After launching a constellation of 11 Orbcomm-OG2 second-generation satellites,[673] the first stage performed a controlled-descent and landing test for the eighth time, SpaceX attempted to land the booster on land for the first time. It managed to return the first stage successfully to the Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral, marking the first successful recovery of a rocket first stage that launched a payload to orbit.[674] After recovery, the first stage booster performed further ground tests and then was put on permanent display outside SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California.[102]
On April 8, 2016, SpaceX delivered its commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station marking the return-to-flight of the Dragon capsule, after the loss of CRS-7. After separation, the first-stage booster slowed itself with a boostback maneuver, re-entered the atmosphere, executed an automated controlled descent and landed vertically onto the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, marking the first successful landing of a rocket on a ship at sea.[675] This was the fourth attempt to land on a drone ship, as part of the company's experimental controlled-descent and landing tests.[676]
Loss of Amos-6 on the launch pad
On September 1, 2016, the 29th Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad while propellant was being loaded for a routine pre-launch static fire test. The payload, Israeli satellite Amos-6, partly commissioned by Facebook, was destroyed with the launcher.[677] On 2 January 2017, SpaceX released an official statement indicating that the cause of the failure was a buckled liner in several of the COPV tanks, causing perforations that allowed liquid and/or solid oxygen to accumulate underneath the COPVs carbon strands, which were subsequently ignited possibly due to friction of breaking strands.[153]
First launch of a refurbished first stage
On March 30, 2017, Flight 32 launched the SES-10 satellite with the first-stage booster B1021, which had been previously used for the CRS-8 mission a year earlier. The stage was successfully recovered a second time and was retired and put on display at Cape Canaveral.[678]
Zuma
Zuma was a classified US government satellite and was developed and built by Northrop Grumman at an estimated cost of $3.5 billion.[679] Its launch, originally planned for mid-November 2017, was postponed to 8 January 2018 as fairing tests for another SpaceX customer were assessed. Following a successful Falcon 9 launch, the first-stage booster landed at LZ-1.[244] Unconfirmed reports suggested that the Zuma spacecraft was lost,[245] with claims that either the payload failed following orbital release, or that the customer-provided adapter failed to release the satellite from the upper stage, while other claims argued that Zuma was in orbit and operating covertly.[245] SpaceX's COO Gwynne Shotwell stated that their Falcon 9 "did everything correctly" and that "Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false".[245] A preliminary report indicated that the payload adapter, modified by Northrop Grumman after purchasing it from a subcontractor, failed to separate the satellite from the second stage under the zero gravity conditions.[680][679] Due to the classified nature of the mission, no further official information is expected.[245]
Falcon Heavy test flight
Liftoff of Falcon Heavy on its maiden flight (left) and its two side-boosters landing at LZ-1 and LZ-2 a few minutes later (right)
The maiden launch of the Falcon Heavy occurred on February 6, 2018, marking the launch of the most powerful rocket since the Space Shuttle, with a theoretical payload capacity to low Earth orbit more than double the Delta IV Heavy.[681][682] Both side boosters landed nearly simultaneously after a ten-minute flight. The central core failed to land on a floating platform at sea.[263] The rocket carried a car and a mannequin to an eccentric heliocentric orbit that reaches further than aphelion of Mars.[683]
Booster reflight records
On December 3, 2018, Spaceflight SSO-A (SmallSat Express) aboard B1046 was the first mission using a first-stage booster the third time. B1048, the first fourth flight of a booster, followed in November 2019 with the first batch of Starlink v1.0 satellites. In March 2020 a booster was used for a fifth flight for the first time, also using B1048. However, B1048 was lost during re-entry. B1049 was the first booster to be recovered five times on June 4th 2020.
First flight of Crew Dragon
On March 2, 2019, SpaceX launched its first orbital flight of Dragon 2 (Crew Dragon). It was an uncrewed mission to the International Space Station. The Dragon contained a mannequin named Ripley which was equipped with multiple sensors to gather data about how a human would feel during the flight. Along with the mannequin was 300 pounds of cargo of food and other supplies.[684] Also on board was Earth plush toy referred to as a 'Super high tech zero-g indicator'.[685] The toy became a hit with astronaut Anne McClain who showed the plushy on the ISS each day[686] and also deciding to keep it on board to experience the crewed SpX-DM2.
The Dragon spent six days in space including five docked to the International Space Station. During the time, various systems were tested to make sure the vehicle was ready for US astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to fly in it in 2020. The Dragon undocked and performed a re-entry burn before splashing down on March 8, 2019 at 08:45 EST, 320 km off the coast of Florida.[687]
First crewed flight
SpaceX held a successful launch of the first commercial orbital human space flight on May 30, 2020, crewed with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. Both astronauts will focus on conducting tests on the Crew Dragon capsule, attach to the ISS for 90 days.
See also
- List of Falcon 1 launches, an overview of launches for Falcon 9's predecessor.
- List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters
- List of SpaceX Dragon missions
- List of Starship flights, list of SpaceX's next generation rocket flights
Notes
- ^ The Telstar 18V and 19V satellites were heavier, but were launched into a lower-energy transfer orbit achieving an apogee well below the geostationary altitude.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Falcon 9 first-stage boosters are designated with a construction serial number and an optional flight number when reused, e.g. B1021.1 and B1021.2 represent the two flights of booster B1021. Launches using reused boosters are denoted with a recycled symbol ♺.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t In addition, the Dragon capsule has a dry mass of 4,200 kg (9,300 lb)
- ^ a b c d e f g A controlled "ocean landing" denotes a controlled atmospheric entry, descent and vertical splashdown on the ocean's surface at near zero velocity, for the sole purpose of gathering test data; such boosters were destroyed at sea.
- ^ Since it was a pre-flight test, SpaceX does not count this scheduled attempt in their launch totals. Some sources do consider this planned flight into the counting schemes, and as a result, some sources might list launch totals after 2016 with one additional launch.
- ^ On behalf of an unspecified US government agency.
- ^ Payload comprises five Iridium satellites weighing 860 kg each,[327] two GRACE-FO satellites weighing 580 kg each,[328] plus a 1,000-kg dispenser.[163]
- ^ Total payload mass includes the Crew Dragon capsule, fuel, suited mannequin, instrumentation and 204 kg of cargo.
- ^ Despite making a successful landing, de-tanking and heading back home, the stage tipped over at sea. This is still considered a successful landing as the stage damage occurred while in transport.[427]
References
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The next version of Falcon 9 will be used for everything. The last flight of version 1.0 will be Flight 5. All future missions after Flight 5 will be v1.1.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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Orbcomm requested that SpaceX carry one of their small satellites (weighing a few hundred pounds, vs Dragon at over 12,000 pounds)... The higher the orbit, the more test data [Orbcomm] can gather, so they requested that we attempt to restart and raise altitude. NASA agreed to allow that, but only on condition that there be substantial propellant reserves, since the orbit would be close to the space station. It is important to appreciate that Orbcomm understood from the beginning that the orbit-raising maneuver was tentative. They accepted that there was a high risk of their satellite remaining at the Dragon insertion orbit. SpaceX would not have agreed to fly their satellite otherwise, since this was not part of the core mission and there was a known, material risk of no altitude raise.
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A second anomaly was a stage-one fire on the "Octaweb" engine structure during a flight in December.
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The April 17 F9R Dev 1 flight, which lasted under 1 min., was the first vertical landing test of a production-representative recoverable Falcon 9 v1.1 first stage, while the April 18 cargo flight to the ISS was the first opportunity for SpaceX to evaluate the design of foldable landing legs and upgraded thrusters that control the stage during its initial descent.
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Rumors started circulating on Monday that the satellite malfunctioned when it reached orbit, and both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have reported that Zuma actually fell back to Earth and burned up in the planet’s atmosphere. […] SpaceX said that the Falcon 9 rocket, which carried Zuma to orbit, performed as it was supposed to. […] "For clarity: after review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night", [Gwynne Shotwell] said. "If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will report it immediately. Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false". She added that the company cannot comment further due to the classified nature of the mission. […] Of course, Northrop Grumman won't comment on the launch.
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