The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully completed its 24th voyage on Wednesday, setting a new record for the first-stage booster. The rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:13 a.m. ET, carrying 24 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit.
Following the launch, the first stage of the Falcon 9 executed a flawless landing on a drone ship stationed off the Florida coast. This paves the way for a potential 25th flight following thorough inspections and refurbishments.
Previously, the booster, named B1067 by SpaceX, was involved in numerous missions including CRS-22, CRS-25, Crew 3, Crew 4, TelkomSat-113BT, Turksat-5B, Koreasat-6A, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F2, Galileo L13, mPOWER-A, and PSN MFS. Additionally, it was used in 13 Starlink missions for deploying internet satellites to low-Earth orbit. The B1067 had its maiden flight in June 2021 and its most recent one prior to this record-setting one was on November 11.
The Falcon 9 B1067 is the current leader among other first-stage boosters, with two others having completed 23 flights thus far. Many others have also marked multiple flights.
This practice of reusing rockets helps SpaceX significantly reduce the cost of space missions, thereby enabling more frequent launches. This affordability has opened up opportunities for a wider range of companies and organizations to participate in orbital missions.
SpaceX first accomplished a vertical landing of a 41.2-meter-tall Falcon 9 first-stage booster in 2015. After a few initial hiccups, the company managed to streamline the process.
SpaceX engineers are now focusing on a more formidable task – landing the significantly larger Super Heavy booster, the first stage of the Starship rocket. Measuring 71 meters in height, the Super Heavy presents a more challenging landing on the ground. To tackle this, SpaceX has incorporated large mechanical “chopstick” arms on the launch tower to secure the booster as it descends, just before it lands.
In October, SpaceX successfully landed the Super Heavy during its fifth test flight. However, it could not replicate the procedure in its subsequent test. But with more practice, SpaceX aims to master this landing process as it gears up for future launches to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
