SpaceX has breezed past a new record of becoming the first company and entity in human history to land more than two hundred rockets successfully. The firm set this record yesterday when it launched a satellite for an Indonesian company to a higher orbit and stole crucial market share from the Chinese and European launch sectors. The mission also saw SpaceX launch its 41st mission this year, keeping it on track with its goal to launch one hundred missions this year - for another first in both its and the history of the astronautics industry.
SpaceX Keeps Pedal To The Metal By Launching 41 Missions In 2023
Over the course of a little over two decades, SpaceX has fulfilled one of its primary objectives - namely, introducing reusability to rockets. This aim is part of the firm's broader goal of conducting regular flights to Mars, which can only occur if the launch costs are reduced by reducing the money spent on building expensive first-stage rockets.
Yet, even though SpaceX has been in the industry since 2002, reusability is a relatively newer phenomenon. The first Falcon 9 landed on a land-based site only in 2015, as it took SpaceX more than a decade to deliver on its goal of reusability. Since then, it's been a breeze for the firm, and the launch of the SATRIA satellite saw it cross the landmark of 200 rocket landings. Since SpaceX heavily reuses the first stage boosters, these landings are not itemized boosters and include several boosters being landed multiple times.
The firm has also been particularly forthcoming with facts about reusability this month. During the launch of its Transporter 8, or T8, mission, it shared that approximately 90% of all the missions that it has launched since 2022 have reused the first stage. The T8 mission was SpaceX's biggest rideshare mission to date, as it launched a remarkable 72 satellites belonging to agencies and firms operating worldwide.
This trend of high reusability was maintained on the latest mission, with the Falcon 9 launching and landing for the 12th time. Some previous missions that the rocket has flown include multiple Starlink launches and two NASA crewed and uncrewed missions. Even as it pushes its rockets further than anyone in history, SpaceX has big plans for the Falcon 9. According to its vice president for build and reliability, Bill Gersetnmaier, it aims to fly the rockets 20 times each.
The goal to fly a rocket 20 times is part of a broader strategy to reduce costs. Two additional efforts have come to play this year. One of these is a shorter nozzle for the Merlin vacuum engine. This engine powers the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, and it is responsible for ensuring that the satellites and payloads make it to their desired orbit. Another is increasing land landings of the rocket, with company representatives sharing that tighter mission profiles and increased efficiency have allowed it to bring the rocket back to land instead of bearing the costs of using a drone ship.
SpaceX's latest launch was its 41st mission in 2023. Taking place in the 25th week of June, it enables the firm to nearly meet the average launches required to complete a manifest of 100 launches in a year. At the same time, all eyes are on Boca Chica, Texas where it is developing the Starship rocket. Starship will be the culmination of SpaceX's foundational aim of fully reusable rockets and flights to Mars - and be the world's rocket at the same time if it becomes operational.
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