Since June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched times, with full mission successes, three failures, and one partial failure. Designed and operated by SpaceX, the Falcon 9 family includes the retired versions Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, and v1.2 "Full Thrust" (blocks 3 and 4), 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 into orbit.[3] This reusability results in significantly reduced launch costs, as the cost of the first stage constitutes the majority of the cost of a new rocket.[4] [5] Falcon family boosters have successfully landed times in attempts. A total of boosters have flown multiple missions, with a record of missions by a booster. SpaceX has also reflown fairing halves more than 300 times, with some being reflown for at least twenty times.[6]
Typical missions include launches of SpaceX's Starlink satellites (accounting for a majority of the Falcon manifest), Dragon crew and cargo missions to the International Space Station, and launches of commercial and military satellites to LEO, polar, and geosynchronous orbits. The heaviest payloads launched on Falcon are batches of 24 Starlink V2-Mini satellites weighing total, a configuration first flown February 2024,[7] landing on ASDS. The heaviest payload launched to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) was the Jupiter-3 on 29 July 2023. Launches to higher-orbits have included DSCOVR to Sun–Earth Lagrange point L1, TESS to a lunar flyby, a Tesla Roadster demonstration payload to a heliocentric orbit extending past the orbit of Mars, DART to the asteroid Didymos, Euclid to Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, and Psyche to the asteroid 16 Psyche.
Rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched times over, resulting in full successes, two in-flight failures (SpaceX CRS-7 and Starlink Group 9-3), and one partial success (SpaceX CRS-1, which delivered its cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), but a secondary payload was stranded in a lower-than-planned orbit). Additionally, one rocket and its payload AMOS-6 were destroyed before launch in preparation for an on-pad static fire test. The active version, Falcon 9 Block 5, has flown times successfully.
In 2022 Falcon 9 set a new record of 60 launches (all successful) by the same launch vehicle type in a calendar year. The previous record was held by Soyuz-U, which had 47 launches (45 successful) in 1979.[8] In 2023 Falcon 9 family set a new record of 96 launches (all successful) by the same launch vehicle family in a calendar year. The previous record was held by R-7 rocket family, which had 63 launches (61 successful) in 1980.[9]
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 Falcon 9 Full Thrust times from December 2015 to present. The latest Full Thrust variant, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018.[10] While the Block 4 boosters were only flown twice and required several months of refurbishment, Block 5 versions were certified to sustain 10 flights and have since been recertified for 15 and then 20 flights per booster.[11] SpaceX is currently planning to further increase the Falcon re-flight certification to 40 flights per booster; the limit of 20 flights has been reached.[12]
The Falcon Heavy derivative consists of a strengthened Falcon 9 first stage as its center core, with two additional Falcon 9 first stages attached and used as boosters, both of which are fitted with an aerodynamic nosecone instead of a usual Falcon 9 interstage.[13]
Falcon 9 first-stage boosters landed successfully in of attempts, with out of for the Falcon 9 Block 5 version. A total of re-flights of first stage boosters have all successfully launched their payloads.
From June 2010, to the end of 2019, Falcon 9 was launched 77 times, with 75 full mission successes, one partial failure and one total loss of the spacecraft. In addition, one rocket and its payload were destroyed on the launch pad during the fueling process before a static fire test was set to occur. Falcon Heavy was launched three times, all successful.
The first Falcon 9 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 Falcon 9 Full Thrust (through Block 4) 36 times from December 2015, to June 2018. The latest Full Thrust variant, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018,[14] and launched 21 times before the end of 2019.
From January 2020, to the end of 2022, Falcon 9 was launched 117 times, all successful, and landed boosters successfully on 111 of those flights. Falcon Heavy was launched once and was successful, including landing of the mission's two side boosters.
SpaceX shattered previous records in 2023, launching 96 Falcon family vehicles—91 Falcon 9 and five Falcon Heavy rockets. Surpassing both the company's own record and the global annual record of 64 launches, SpaceX came close to its ambitious goal of 100 Falcon launches.[15] [16]
The company's payload delivery capacity also soared, with approximately 1200t sent to orbit, equivalent to 2.19 times the mass of a fully fueled Falcon 9 rocket.[17]
Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) | Version, booster | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
195 | 3 January 2023 14:56[18] | F9B5 B1060.15 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Transporter-6 (115 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (LZ1) | ||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to Sun-synchronous orbit.[19] It included six space tugs, also known as orbital transfer vehicles (OTV), which are two of D-Orbit's ION Satellite Carriers, Epic Aerospace's Chimera LEO 1, Momentus's Vigoride-5, Skykraft's OTV and Launcher's Orbiter SN1.[20] [21] Orbiter SN1 failed shortly after deployment from Falcon and before deploying payloads. One of the payloads, EWS RROCI failed to deploy from Falcon 9 and the satellite re-entered with the upper stage.[22] This was not a SpaceX failure as brokered dispensers and deployers are used on Transporter missions.[23] | |||||||||
196 | 10 January 2023 04:50[24] | F9B5 B1076.2 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | OneWeb 16 (40 satellites) | Polar LEO | OneWeb | (LZ1) | ||
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, OneWeb suspended launches on Soyuz rockets. In March 2022, OneWeb announced that they had signed an agreement with SpaceX to resume satellite launches.[25] This flight, the 16th of the OneWeb program and the second on a SpaceX rocket, carried 40 satellites.[26] [27] [28] | |||||||||
FH 5 | 15 January 2023 22:56[29] | Falcon Heavy B5 B1070(core) | Kennedy, LC39A | USSF-67 (CBAS-2 & LDPE-3A) | ~ | GEO | USSF | ||
B1064.2(side) | (LZ2) | ||||||||
B1065.2(side) | (LZ1) | ||||||||
First launch of Phase 2 US Air Force contract. US$316 million cost for the fiscal year of 2022, for the first flight,[30] mostly includes the cost of an extended payload fairing, upgrades to the company's West Coast launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and a vertical integration facility required for NRO missions, while the launching price does not increase.[31] SpaceX deliberately expended the center core, which thus lacked grid fins and landing gear, while the two side-boosters were recovered at Landing Zones 1 and 2, and it was the fourth second stage featuring Falcon long coast mission-extension kit as the mission requirements are same as the USSF-44 mission.[32] | |||||||||
197 | 18 January 2023 12:24[33] | F9B5 B1077.2 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | MEO | USSF | (JRTI) | |||
Global Positioning System navigation satellite, sixth GPS Block III satellite to be launched, named after Amelia Earhart. Space vehicle manufacturing contract awarded February 2013.[34] In September 2018, the space vehicle was integrating harnesses.[35] In March 2018, the Air Force announced it had awarded the launch contract for three GPS satellites to SpaceX.[36] [37] [38] | |||||||||
198 | 19 January 2023 15:43[39] | F9B5 B1075.1 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 2-4 (51 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
A West Coast Starlink network launch to a circular orbit at an inclination of 70°. This launch was the first launch of Starlink satellites using a non-reused booster. | |||||||||
199 | 26 January 2023 09:32[40] | F9B5 B1067.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-2 (56 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch for the Generation 2 network. Heaviest payload flown on Falcon 9.[41] | |||||||||
200 | 31 January 2023 16:15[42] | F9B5 B1071.7 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 2-6 (49 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | Success | Success (OCISLY) |
ION SCV009 | D-Orbit | ||||||||
A West Coast Starlink network launch to a circular orbit at an inclination of 70°. Also carried D-Orbit's ION SCV009 "Eclectic Elena."[43] [44] [45] | |||||||||
201 | 2 February 2023 07:58 | F9B5 B1069.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 5-3 (53 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
An East Coast Starlink launch for the Generation 2 network.[46] | |||||||||
202 | 7 February 2023 01:32[47] | F9B5 B1073.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Amazonas Nexus | GTO | Hispasat | (JRTI) | ||
A high-throughput telecommunications satellite.[48] [49] Hosted payloads included USSF Pathfinder 2[50] and Tele Greenland A/S's GreenSat.[51] [52] | |||||||||
203 | 12 February 2023 05:10[53] | F9B5 B1062.12 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-4 (55 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
An East Coast Starlink launch for the Generation 2 network.[54] [55] This launch marked a pad turn around record for SpaceX; the launch occurred five days, three hours, and 38 minutes after SpaceX's previous mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral.[56] | |||||||||
204 | 17 February 2023 19:12 | F9B5 B1063.9 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 2-5 (51 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
A West Coast Starlink network launch to a circular orbit at an inclination of 70°.[57] | |||||||||
205 | 18 February 2023 03:59[58] | F9B5 B1077.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Inmarsat-6 F2 | GTO | Inmarsat | (JRTI) | ||
Inmarsat maintained its launch option after a scheduled 2016 Falcon Heavy launch (a European Aviation Network satellite) was switched for an Ariane 5 launch in 2017.[59] This option could be used for launching Inmarsat-6B.[60] In February 2022, Inmarsat confirmed Inmarsat-6 F2 will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket.[61] [62] The satellite reached the supersynchronous geostationary transfer orbit of inclined at 27°.[63] | |||||||||
206 | 27 February 2023 23:13[64] | F9B5 B1076.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-1 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network.[65] [66] [67] First launch of the F9-2 Starlink bus, "V2 Mini". Owing to delays in the Starship program, SpaceX opted to manufacture these downsized satellites over the planned full-size V2 (intended for Starship) to continue the timely construction of the Starlink constellation. The V2 Mini satellite is 2.4x the mass of its V1.5 predecessor but provides 4x the data capacity.[68] SpaceX committed to reduce debris by keeping the Starlink tension rods, which hold the V2 mini satellites together, attached to the Falcon 9 second stage. These tension rods were discarded into orbit while launching earlier version of Starlink satellites.[69] This flight marked the 100th consecutive landing success of a Falcon 9 booster since 16 February 2021. | |||||||||
207 | 2 March 2023 05:34[70] | F9B5 B1078.1 | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew-6 (Crew Dragon C206.4 Endeavour) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS) | (JRTI) | |
Last USCV launch out of original NASA award of six Crew Dragon missions, to carry up to four astronauts and of cargo to the ISS, as well as feature a lifeboat function to evacuate astronauts from ISS in case of an emergency.[71] [72] | |||||||||
208 | 3 March 2023 18:38 | F9B5 B1061.12 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 2-7 (51 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
A West Coast Starlink network launch to a circular orbit at an inclination of 70°.[73] | |||||||||
209 | 9 March 2023 19:13[74] | F9B5 B1062.13 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | OneWeb 17 (40 satellites) | LEO | OneWeb | (LZ1) | ||
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, OneWeb suspended launches on Soyuz rockets.[75] In March 2022, OneWeb announced they had signed an agreement with SpaceX to resume satellite launches. | |||||||||
210 | 15 March 2023 00:30[76] | F9B5 B1073.7 | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-27 (Dragon C209.3) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (ASOG) | ||
Three more CRS Phase 2 missions for Dragon 2 covering up to CRS-29 were announced in December 2020.[77] This flight used a partial boostback burn to bring the first-stage booster to its drone ship closer to the coast. The maneuver was meant to cut down processing time by decreasing the time spent moving the ship back for refurbishment.[78] [79] [80] | |||||||||
211 | 17 March 2023 19:26[81] | F9B5 B1071.8 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 2-8 (52 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast Starlink network launch to a circular orbit at an inclination of 70°. | |||||||||
212 | 17 March 2023 23:38 | F9B5 B1069.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | SES-18 & SES-19 | ~ | GTO | SES | (JRTI) | |
SpaceX launched two C-band satellites for SES, with the option to launch a third satellite on a second flight.[82] [83] SpaceX set a new record for the shortest time between two Falcon 9 launches at 4 hours and 12 minutes. The previous record time was 7 hours and 10 minutes, set between the Crew-5 and Starlink Group 4-29 missions on 5 October 2022. | |||||||||
213 | 24 March 2023 15:43[84] | F9B5 B1067.10 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-5 (56 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network.[85] | |||||||||
214 | 29 March 2023 20:01[86] | F9B5 B1077.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-10 (56 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. This launch marked the first time SpaceX completed 8 launches in a calendar month. | |||||||||
215 | 2 April 2023 14:29[87] | F9B5 B1075.2 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Transport and Tracking Layer (Tranche 0A) (10 satellites) | LEO | SDA | (LZ4) | ||
First launch of SDA Transport and Tracking Layer satellites. Out of 10 satellites, 8 are York Space Systems built Transport layer satellites and 2 are SpaceX-Leidos built, Starlink-derived Tracking Layer satellites.[88] The Transport layer is an interoperable mesh network of satellites intended to provide periodic low-latency and high-capacity data connectivity, while the Tracking Layer consists of interconnected satellites with cross-links and wide field of view infrared sensors for hypersonic missile tracking. | |||||||||
216 | 7 April 2023 04:30[89] | F9B5 B1076.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Intelsat 40e | ~ | GTO | Intelsat | (ASOG) | |
Maxar Technologies-built satellite that will service North and Central America.[90] [91] Also hosts the (TEMPO) experiment. | |||||||||
217 | 15 April 2023 06:47[92] | F9B5 B1063.10 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Transporter-7 (51 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (LZ4) | ||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. First flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements.[93] [94] Fifth mission featuring a second stage with a long coast mission-extension kit, accommodating the four second stage burns for payload deployment, excluding the deorbit burn. | |||||||||
218 | 19 April 2023 14:31[95] | F9B5 B1073.8 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-2 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 Mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network.[96] | |||||||||
219 | 27 April 2023 13:40[97] | F9B5 B1061.13 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 3-5 (46 satellites) | ~ | SSO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast Starlink launch to a Sun-synchronous orbit at an inclination of 97.6°. | |||||||||
220 | 28 April 2023 22:12[98] | F9B5 B1078.2 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | O3b mPOWER 3 & 4 | ~ | MEO | SES | (JRTI) | |
Second part of SES' MEO satellites for its O3b low-latency, high-performance connectivity services.[99] [100] [101] | |||||||||
FH 6 | 1 May 2023 00:26[102] | Falcon Heavy B5 B1068(core) | Kennedy, LC39A | ViaSat-3 Americas[103] [104] | GEO | ViaSat | |||
B1052.8(side) | Aurora 4A (Arcturus)[105] [106] | Astranis / Pacific Dataport | |||||||
B1053.3(side) | GS-1 | Gravity Space | |||||||
This mission directly delivered the satellites to geostationary orbit, thus the core and side boosters were all expendable alongside having the sixth second stage featuring Falcon long coast mission-extension kit.[107] Satellites of the ViaSat-3 class use electric propulsion, which requires less fuel for stationkeeping operations over their lifetime, making them the heaviest all-electric satellites ever launched into space. First mission to expend all three cores. GS-1 is a cubesat operated by Gravity Space on behalf of PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara who calls the satellite Nusantara-H1-A. | |||||||||
221 | 4 May 2023 07:31 | F9B5 B1069.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-6 (56 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network.[108] [109] | |||||||||
222 | 10 May 2023 20:09[110] | F9B5 B1075.3[111] | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 2-9 (51 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
A West Coast Starlink network launch to a circular orbit at an inclination of 70°. | |||||||||
223 | 14 May 2023 05:03[112] | F9B5 B1067.11 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-9[113] (56 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
224 | 19 May 2023 06:19[114] | F9B5 B1076.5 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-3[115] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 Mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
225 | 20 May 2023 13:16 | F9B5 B1063.11 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Iridium-NEXT[116] (5 satellites) OneWeb (15 Gen1 plus a Gen2 test satellite)[117] | ~ | Polar LEO | Iridium & OneWeb | (OCISLY) | |
Iridium-9 rideshare mission, carrying five on-orbit spare Iridium-NEXT satellites along with 15 Gen1 and a demo Gen2 OneWeb satellites. Second flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. | |||||||||
226 | 21 May 2023 21:37[118] | F9B5 B1080.1 | Kennedy, LC39A | Ax-2 (Crew Dragon C212.2 Freedom) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | Axiom Space | (LZ1) | |
Axiom contracted for three additional private crewed missions in June 2021. Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner were signed on as commander and pilot for Ax-2.[119] [120] The third and fourth seats were bought by Saudi Arabia.[121] The Saudi crew members were revealed to be Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi.[122] First time a booster landed on a ground pad after a crewed launch. | |||||||||
227 | 27 May 2023 04:30[123] | F9B5 B1062.14 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | ArabSat 7B (Badr-8)[124] | ~ | GTO | Arabsat | (JRTI) | |
Includes Airbus's TELEO optical communications payload demonstrator.[125] | |||||||||
228 | 31 May 2023 06:02[126] | F9B5 B1061.14 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 2–10[127] (52 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast Starlink launch to a circular orbit at an inclination of 70°. The 200th consecutive successful Falcon 9 mission. This launch marked the first time SpaceX completed 9 launches in a calendar month. | |||||||||
229 | 4 June 2023 12:20 | F9B5 B1078.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-4[128] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 Mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
230 | 5 June 2023 15:47[129] | F9B5 B1077.5[130] | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-28 (Dragon C208.4)[131] | ~ | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (ASOG) | |
Three more CRS Phase 2 missions for Dragon 2 covering up to CRS-29 were announced in December 2020. Third flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. | |||||||||
231 | 12 June 2023 07:10[132] | F9B5 B1073.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-11[133] (52 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
232 | 12 June 2023 21:35[134] | F9B5 B1071.9 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Transporter-8 (72 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (LZ4) | ||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to Sun-synchronous orbit. Expected to fly on this mission are Launcher's Orbiter SN3 vehicle and the first of Satellite Vu Mid-wave Infrared imaging satellite. This mission marked the 200th overall successful booster landing. Fourth flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. | |||||||||
233 | 18 June 2023 22:21[135] | F9B5 B1067.12[136] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | SATRIA[137] | ~ | GTO | PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara | (ASOG) | |
PSN selected Falcon 9 in September 2020, to launch its satellite instead of a Chinese rocket or Ariane 5. | |||||||||
234 | 22 June 2023 07:19 | F9B5 B1075.4[138] | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 5-7[139] (47 satellites) | ~[140] | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast Starlink launch. Seventh second stage featuring Falcon long coast mission-extension kit. Reaching 43° inclination orbit from Vandenberg, makes it the lowest orbital inclination ever reached by a rocket launched from the US west coast. | |||||||||
235 | 23 June 2023 15:35[141] | F9B5 B1069.8 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-12 (56 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
236 | 1 July 2023 15:12[142] | F9B5 B1080.2 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Euclid | ~ | Sun–Earth L2 injection | ESA | (ASOG) | |
Euclid is a space telescope to better understand dark energy and dark matter by accurately measuring the acceleration of the universe.[143] | |||||||||
237 | 7 July 2023 19:29[144] | F9B5 B1063.12[145] | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 5-13[146] (48 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
238 | 10 July 2023 03:58 | F9B5 B1058.16 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-5[147] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. B1058 was the first booster to launch and land 16 times, pushing the envelope and surpassing its previous record, which was 15 flights. | |||||||||
239 | 16 July 2023 03:50[148] | F9B5 B1060.16[149] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-15[150] (54 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Last v1.5 launch. Second booster flying for the 16th time. | |||||||||
240 | 20 July 2023 04:09[151] | F9B5 B1071.10 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 6-15[152] (15 satellites)[153] | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First Starlink V2 mini launch from West Coast. | |||||||||
241 | 24 July 2023 00:50 | F9B5 B1076.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-6[154] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
242 | 28 July 2023 04:01[155] | F9B5 B1062.15 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-7 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. The launch occurred 4 days, 3 hours and 11 minutes after SpaceX's previous mission from the same pad, setting a new record that was broken again ten days later with flight 244. | |||||||||
FH 7 | 29 July 2023 03:04[156] | Falcon Heavy B5 B1074(core) | Kennedy, LC39A | Jupiter-3 (EchoStar-24)[157] | ~ | GTO | EchoStar | ||
B1064.3(side) | (LZ1) | ||||||||
B1065.3(side) | (LZ2) | ||||||||
Largest and heaviest geostationary communication satellite ever launched. Both side boosters returned to the launch site while the center core was expended.[158] First second stage featuring Falcon medium coast mission-extension kit.[159] | |||||||||
243 | 3 August 2023 05:00[160] | F9B5 B1077.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Galaxy 37 | ~ | GTO | Intelsat | (JRTI) | |
Intelsat originally contracted both SpaceX and Arianespace to launch its seventh C-band replacement satellite, Galaxy 37.[161] Launch was previously awarded to Arianespace.[162] [163] Also known as Galaxy 13R, as it will replace Galaxy 13.[164] The spacecraft also contains a Ku-band payload to be known as Horizons-4, which will be Japan-licensed. | |||||||||
244 | 7 August 2023 02:41[165] | F9B5 B1078.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-8 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. This launch marked a turnaround record for SpaceX; the launch occurred 3 days, 21 hours and 41 minutes after SpaceX's previous mission from SLC-40. The previous record was set the month before at the same launch pad. | |||||||||
245 | 8 August 2023 03:57[166] | F9B5 B1075.5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 6-20(15 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
246 | 11 August 2023 05:17[167] | F9B5 B1069.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-9[168] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. 1st time flying a fairing half for the 11th time. 100th launch of a batch of Starlink satellites (excluding launch of test satellites Tintin A&B). | |||||||||
247 | 17 August 2023 03:36[169] | F9B5 B1067.13 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-10[170] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
248 | 22 August 2023 09:37[171] | F9B5 B1061.15 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-1[172] (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
249 | 26 August 2023 07:27[173] | F9B5 B1081.1[174] | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew-7[175] (Crew Dragon C210.3 Endurance) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS) | (LZ1) | |
After first six Crew Dragon launches of NASA USCV award, a further three missions for SpaceX were announced on 3 December 2021. These launches carry up to four astronauts and of cargo to the ISS as well as feature a lifeboat function to evacuate astronauts from ISS in case of an emergency.[176] | |||||||||
250 | 27 August 2023 01:05[177] | F9B5 B1080.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-11[178] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
251 | 1 September 2023 02:21[179] | F9B5 B1077.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-13[180] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
252 | 2 September 2023[181] 14:25[182] | F9B5 B1063.13 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Transport and Tracking Layer (Tranche 0B) (11 Transport and 2 Tracking Layer satellites) | LEO | SDA | (LZ4) | ||
Second launch of SDA Transport and Tracking Layer satellites. Originally intended to launch remaining 18 satellites but a late change reduced this to 13. One is York Space Systems built and 10 are Lockheed Martin-Tyvak Space systems built Transport layer satellites and 2 are SpaceX-Leidos built, Starlink-derived Tracking layer satellites. The Transport layer is an interoperable mesh network of satellites intended to provide periodic low-latency and high-capacity data connectivity, while the Tracking Layer consists of interconnected satellites with cross-links and wide field of view infrared sensors for hypersonic missile tracking. Fifth flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. This was the 61st launch of a Falcon rocket this year, the same number of launches carried out in all of 2022. | |||||||||
253 | 4 September 2023 02:47[183] | F9B5 B1073.10 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 6-12[184] (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. SpaceX's Falcon family thus broke the yearly world record for most successful launches by any rocket family, first set by the R-7 family in 1980 after this launch. | |||||||||
254 | 9 September 2023 03:12[185] | F9B5 B1076.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-14[186] (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
255 | 12 September 2023 06:57[187] | F9B5 B1071.11 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-2[188] (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
256 | 16 September 2023 03:38[189] | F9B5 B1078.5 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-16 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. This was the 200th flight and 200th success of the Block 5 version of Falcon 9. SpaceX's Falcon family thus broke the yearly world record for most launches attempted (irrespective of launch outcome) by any rocket family, i.e., 64 set by the R-7 family in 1980 after this launch.[190] [191] | |||||||||
257 | 20 September 2023 03:38[192] | F9B5 B1058.17 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-17 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. SpaceX set a new record using the same booster for the 17th time. | |||||||||
258 | 24 September 2023 03:38[193] | F9B5 B1060.17 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-18 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Second booster to fly for the 17th time. | |||||||||
259 | 25 September 2023 08:48[194] | F9B5 B1075.6 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-3 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
260 | 30 September 2023 02:00[195] | F9B5 B1069.10 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-19 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. This launch marked the first time SpaceX completed 10 launches in a calendar month. | |||||||||
261 | 5 October 2023 05:36[196] | F9B5 B1076.8 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-21 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
262 | 9 October 2023 07:23[197] | F9B5 B1063.14 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-4 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
FH 8 | 13 October 2023 14:19[198] | Falcon Heavy B5 B1079(core)[199] | Kennedy, LC39A | Psyche[200] | ~ | Heliocentric | NASA (Discovery) | ||
B1064.4(side) | (LZ1) | ||||||||
B1065.4(side) | (LZ2) | ||||||||
Discovery Program mission designed to explore asteroid 16 Psyche to investigate the formation of the early Solar System.[201] Center core expended, while both side-boosters returned to Cape Canaveral for landings at LZ-1 and LZ-2.[202] | |||||||||
263 | 13 October 2023 23:01[203] | F9B5 B1067.14 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-22 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Launch of 2 rockets in single calendar day. | |||||||||
264 | 18 October 2023 00:39[204] | F9B5 B1062.16 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-23 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
265 | 21 October 2023 08:23[205] | F9B5 B1061.16 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-5 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
266 | 22 October 2023 02:17[206] | F9B5 B1080.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-24 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First time 23 Starlinks V2 Mini were launched and new Falcon 9 payload mass record of 18,400 kg. | |||||||||
267 | 29 October 2023 09:00[207] | F9B5 B1075.7 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-6 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. New record of launching 22 v2 mini satellites from the West Coast. | |||||||||
268 | 30 October 2023 23:20[208] | F9B5 B1077.8 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-25 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
269 | 4 November 2023 00:37[209] | F9B5 B1058.18 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-26 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First booster to fly for the 18th time. | |||||||||
270 | 8 November 2023 05:05[210] | F9B5 B1073.11 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-27 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
271 | 10 November 2023 01:28[211] | F9B5 B1081.2 | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-29 (Dragon C211.2) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (LZ1) | |
Three more CRS Phase 2 missions for Dragon 2 covering up to CRS-29 were announced in December 2020. Mission will launch 2381kg (5,249lb) of pressurized cargo and 569kg (1,254lb) of unpressurized cargo and then spend approximately one month on station. Among the cargo is station supplies and science experiments, including NASA's ILLUMA-T (Laser Communication from Space) and AWE (Atmospheric Waves Experiment) experiments, and ESA's Aquamembrane-3 experiment.[212] | |||||||||
272 | 11 November 2023 18:49[213] | F9B5 B1071.12 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Transporter-9 (113 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (LZ4) | ||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to Sun-synchronous orbit. Sixth flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. Momentus has announced that three sats manifested by them failed to deploy from the Transporter-9 mission. The satellites were destroyed when second stage deorbited.[214] | |||||||||
273 | 12 November 2023 21:08[215] | F9B5 B1076.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | O3b mPOWER 5 & 6 | ~ | MEO | SES | (ASOG) | |
Third part of SES' MEO satellites for its O3b low-latency, high-performance connectivity services. | |||||||||
274 | 18 November 2023 05:05[216] | F9B5 B1069.11 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-28 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
275 | 20 November 2023 10:30[217] | F9B5 B1063.15 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-7 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
276 | 22 November 2023 07:47[218] | F9B5 B1067.15 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-29 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
277 | 28 November 2023 04:20[219] | F9B5 B1062.17 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-30 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First time SpaceX conducted 50th orbital launch in year from a single launch pad, i.e., Cape Canaveral SLC-40 (all Falcon 9). | |||||||||
278 | 1 December 2023 18:19[220] | F9B5 B1061.17 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | 425 Project SAR satellite[221] [222] EIRSAT-1 and others 23 secondary payloads[223] | ~ (main satellite) | SSO | Republic of Korea Armed Forces | (LZ4) | |
A military satellite of South Korea with a mass of 800 kg. EIRSAT-1 is an Irish 2U cubesat that carries a gamma-ray detector and an experiment of thermal coatings for other spacecraft.[224] SpaceX completing 250th landing of a Falcon first-stage booster this mission. | |||||||||
279 | 3 December 2023 04:00[225] | F9B5 B1078.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-31 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
280 | 7 December 2023 05:07[226] | F9B5 B1077.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-33 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. SpaceX's 90th orbital launch of the year including Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. | |||||||||
281 | 8 December 2023 08:03[227] | F9B5 B1071.13 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-8 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. 200th landing on a droneship by a Falcon booster. Fastest turnaround of Vandenberg SLC-4E pad at 6 days, 13 hours and 44 minutes. USA broke the world record of most launches by a nation (108), held by Soviet Union in 1982.[228] [229] SpaceX completed 100 launches in 365 days (a year) between 8 December 2022, 22:27 UTC and 8 December 2023, 8:03 UTC.[230] | |||||||||
282 | 19 December 2023 04:01[231] | F9B5 B1081.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-34 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
283 | 23 December 2023 05:33[232] | F9B5 B1058.19 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-32 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First booster to fly for the 19th time. Despite the landing being initially successful, the booster later tipped over during transit due to rough seas, high winds and waves, the stage was unable to be secured to the deck for recovery and later tipped over and was destroyed in transit. SpaceX has already equipped newer Falcon boosters with upgraded landing legs that have the capability to self-level and mitigate this type of issue.[233] | |||||||||
284 | 24 December 2023 13:11[234] | F9B5 B1075.8 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | SARah 2 & 3[235] | ~ | SSO | German Intelligence Service | (LZ4) | |
In January 2019, the satellites were expected to be launched between November 2020 and September 2021.[236] Seventh flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. | |||||||||
FH 9 | 29 December 2023 01:07[237] | Falcon Heavy B5 B1084(core)[238] | Kennedy, LC39A | USSF-52 (Boeing X-37B OTV-7) | + OTV payload | High Elliptical HEO[239] | Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office[240] /USSF | ||
B1064.5(side) | (LZ1) | ||||||||
B1065.5(side) | (LZ2) | ||||||||
Classified payload contract awarded in June 2018 for US$130 million,[241] increased to $149.2 million in August 2021, due to "a change in the contract requirements" and expected to be completed by 14 April 2022.[242] Draft solicitation said the launch was to GTO.[243] A month before launch, the Air Force announced that the mission will fly the X-37B spaceplane.[244] Fourth flight of the second X-37B. | |||||||||
285 | 29 December 2023 04:01[245] | F9B5 B1069.12 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-36 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. SpaceX set a new record for the shortest time between two Falcon launches at 2 hours and 54 minutes. The previous record time was 4 hours and 12 minutes, set between the Starlink Group 2-8 and SES-18 & SES-19 missions on 17 March 2023. |
As of, SpaceX has conducted launches in 2024, including the failed Starlink Group 9-3 mission.
The company has outlined ambitious launch targets for the year, with initial projections of approximately 144 launches, or an average of 12 per month, accounting for potential delays due to weather, technical issues, and scheduled maintenance.[246] [247] However, subsequent statements from SpaceX leadership indicated a potential increase to 148 launches, an average of 13 launches per month.[248]
SpaceX has demonstrated impressive launch rates in 2024, with a total payload mass to orbit exceeding 1068t—equivalent to 1.945 times the mass of a fully fueled Falcon 9 rocket.[249]
Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) | Version, booster | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
286 | 03:44[250] | F9B5 B1082.1 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-9 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Includes the first six satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
287 | 23:04[251] | F9B5 B1076.10 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Ovzon-3 | GTO | Ovzon | (LZ1) | ||
Broadband internet provider satellite.[252] First Falcon 9 launch to GTO with a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) landing. First commercial satellite with Roll Out Solar Array that were deployed on 10 January 2024.[253] [254] | |||||||||
288 | 22:35[255] | F9B5 B1067.16 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-35 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Falcon record for total time from hangar rollout to launch at 6 hours, 33 minutes.[256] | |||||||||
289 | 08:59[257] | F9B5 B1061.18 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-10 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Second booster to fly for the 18th time. | |||||||||
290 | 01:52[258] | F9B5 B1073.12 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-37 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Shortest landing-to-landing turnaround of a droneship, at about 7 days. 300th successful mission for SpaceX.[259] Following this launch, SLC-40 was deactivated for planned maintenance and upgrades and would not see another flight until 30 January.[260] | |||||||||
291 | 21:49[261] | F9B5 B1080.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Ax-3 (Crew Dragon C212.3 Freedom) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | Axiom Space | (LZ1) | |
Axiom contracted for three additional private crewed missions in June 2021.[262] [263] [264] The crew consisted of American Michael López-Alegría, Italian astronaut Walter Villadei, ESA Swedish Project astronaut Marcus Wandt and Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravcı. | |||||||||
292 | 00:35[265] | F9B5 B1063.16 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-11 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
293 | 01:10[266] | F9B5 B1062.18 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 6-38 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
294 | 05:57[267] | F9B5 B1075.9 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-12 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. This landing marked the fastest turnaround of a droneship at just over 5 days. The launch also marked the fastest turnaround time of SLC-4E at 5 days, 5 hours, 22 minutes, and 20 seconds, beating previous record of 6.5 days. | |||||||||
295 | 17:07[268] | F9B5 B1077.10 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | NG-20 | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman (CRS) | (LZ1) | ||
First Cygnus flight on Falcon 9. Northrop Grumman acquired three flights from SpaceX while a replacement engine is developed for its Antares rocket.[269] Eighth flight with short nozzle second stage, which has lower production cost and faster build time but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. SpaceX modified the fairing to add a hatch for late cargo loads onto the spacecraft via mobile cleanroom. Unmanned Enhanced Cygnus cargo spacecraft named in honor of Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson. | |||||||||
296 | 06:33[270] | F9B5 B1081.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | PACE | SSO | NASA (LSP) | (LZ1) | ||
Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) is a, US$800 million craft that orbits at a altitude. It has the Ocean Color Imager intended to study phytoplankton in the ocean, as well as two polarimeters for studying properties of clouds, aerosols and the ocean. The launch price was US$80.4 million.[271] | |||||||||
297 | 00:34[272] | F9B5 B1071.14 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-13 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
298 | 22:30[273] | F9B5 B1078.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | USSF-124 | LEO | USSF SDA | (LZ2) | ||
Launch included two HBTSS and four SDA Tranche 0 Tracking Layer satellites. Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2022. Second time a second stage featured Falcon medium coast mission-extension kit.< | --stage deorbited within 3 hours and long coast is for 6-12 hours--> 1st time flying a fairing half for the 15th time. | ||||||||
299 | 06:05[274] | F9B5 B1060.18 | Kennedy, LC39A | IM-1 Nova-C Odysseus lander | TLI | NASA (CLPS) Intuitive Machines | (LZ1) | ||
Second mission of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and first private American company to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon. The lander is to carry five payloads of up to total (LRA, NDL, LN-1, SCALPSS, and ROLSES), a deployable camera namely, EagleCam and transmit data from the lunar surface in a mission lasting 2 weeks.[275] [276] [277] The LC-39A pad's transporter erector was modified to fuel cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid methane into the payload before liftoff.[278] | |||||||||
300 | 21:34[279] | F9B5 B1082.2 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-14 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
300th Falcon 9 launch for a West Coast v2 mini Starlink mission to their Generation 2 network. 200th consecutive successful landing of a booster. First time SpaceX launched three rockets within 24 hours. SpaceX has started to remove the stiffener ring around the regular nozzle of Merlin Vacuum Engine on their Starlink missions from this launch.[280] | |||||||||
301 | 20:11[281] | F9B5 B1067.17 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Telkomsat HTS 113BT | GTO | Telkom Indonesia | (OCISLY) | ||
Indonesian satellite to provide more capacity over Indonesia.[282] 300th successful Falcon 9 mission. | |||||||||
302 | 04:11[283] | F9B5 B1061.19 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-15 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Second booster to fly for the 19th time. One of the nine Merlin engines powering this first stage is flight leader, powering its 22nd mission to Earth orbit. It is already the most renowned rocket engine to date, surpassing Space Shuttle Main Engine no. 2019's record of 19 flights on its 20th flight.[284] | |||||||||
303 | 22:06[285] | F9B5 B1069.13 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-39 (24 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First launch with 24 v2 mini and new mass record on Falcon 9 taking to low Earth orbit.[286] | |||||||||
304 | 15:30[287] | F9B5 B1076.11 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-40 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
305 | 03:53[288] | F9B5 B1083.1 | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew-8 (Crew Dragon C206.5 Endeavour) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS) | (LZ1) | |
After first six Crew Dragon launches of NASA USCV award, a further three missions for SpaceX were announced on 3 December 2021. These launches carry up to four astronauts and of cargo to the ISS as well as feature a lifeboat function to evacuate astronauts from ISS in case of an emergency. SpaceX flew its 50th astronaut on this Crew Dragon launch.[289] | |||||||||
306 | 22:05[290] | F9B5 B1081.5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Transporter-10 (53 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (LZ4) | ||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit including the 1,000th satellite of SpaceX rideshare program.[291] [292] Third time a second stage featured Falcon medium coast mission-extension kit. | |||||||||
307 | 23:56[293] | F9B5 B1073.13 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-41 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. SpaceX set a new record for the shortest time between two Falcon launches at 1 hour and 51 minutes. The previous record time was 2 hours and 54 minutes, set between the USSF-52 (Boeing X-37B OTV-7) and Starlink Group 6–36 missions on December 29, 2023. Thus for the first time, SpaceX launch operations for a mission coincided with that of a preceding launch (in this case, payload deployment of Transporter-10:(53 payloads SmallSat Rideshare).[294] It is a new record for the shortest time between three Falcon launches at 20 hours and 3 minutes. The previous record time was 23 hours and 4 minutes, set between flights 298 and 300 on 14/15 February 2024. | |||||||||
308 | 23:05[295] | F9B5 B1077.11 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-43 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
309 | 04:09[296] | F9B5 B1063.17 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-17 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First time 23 Starlinks v2 minis are launched from Vandenberg. | |||||||||
310 | 00:21[297] | F9B5 B1062.19 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 6-44 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
311 | 02:28[298] | F9B5 B1075.10 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-16 (20 satellites) + 2 Starshield satellites | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Two SpaceX Starshield satellites as rideshare.[299] [300] [301] | |||||||||
312 | 20:55[302] | F9B5 B1080.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | SpaceX CRS-30 (Dragon C209.4) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (LZ1) | ||
Six additional CRS-2 missions for Dragon 2 were announced in March 2022, resupplying the ISS until 2026.[303] First launch of Dragon 2 from SLC-40. | |||||||||
313 | 03:09[304] | F9B5 B1060.19 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 6-42 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
314 | 23:42[305] | F9B5 B1078.8 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-46 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Least time taken between landing and port's arrival at 50 hours and fastest turnaround of a pad switching from Dragon to Fairing mission, that was completed in 4 days.[306] | |||||||||
315 | 21:52[307] | F9B5 B1076.12 | Kennedy, LC39A | Eutelsat 36D | GTO | Eutelsat | (JRTI) | ||
Television broadcast satellite. First time SpaceX completed 11 Falcon launches in a calendar month. | |||||||||
316 | 01:30[308] | F9B5 B1067.18 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-45 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. This marks the first time SpaceX has completed 12 Falcon launches in a calendar month. | |||||||||
317 | 02:30[309] | F9B5 B1071.15 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 7-18 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
318 | 09:12[310] | F9B5 B1069.14 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-47 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
319 | 02:25[311] | F9B5 B1081.6 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 8-1 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including six satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
320 | 23:16[312] | F9B5 B1073.14 | Kennedy, LC39A | Bandwagon-1 (11 payload smallsat rideshare) | LEO | Various | (LZ1) | ||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to 45° inclination, altitude. The mission includes flight 2 of 425 Project SAR satellite, a military satellite of South Korea with a mass of ~. | |||||||||
321 | 05:40[313] | F9B5 B1083.2 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-48 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
322 | 14:25[314] | F9B5 B1082.3 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | USSF-62 (WSF-M 1) | SSO | USSF | (LZ4) | ||
Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2022. Mission will launch the first Weather System Follow-on Microwave weather satellite, which will replace the aging Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites.[315] [316] | |||||||||
323 | 01:40[317] | F9B5 B1062.20 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-49 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First booster to fly for the 20th time, new record. | |||||||||
324 | 21:26[318] | F9B5 B1077.12 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 6-51 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
325 | 22:40[319] | F9B5 B1080.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-52 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
326 | 22:17[320] | F9B5 B1078.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-53 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. 300th Falcon booster landing, including both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters.[321] | |||||||||
327 | 00:34[322] | F9B5 B1060.20 | Kennedy, LC39A | Galileo-L12 (FOC FM25 & FM27) | MEO | ESA | |||
First Galileo satellites booked on a US rocket following delays to the European Ariane 6 program. The booster was expended on this mission due to the performance needed to get the payload to the desired 23,616 km orbit. | |||||||||
328 | 22:08[323] | F9B5 B1076.13 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-54 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. 300th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch. | |||||||||
329 | 18:36[324] | F9B5 B1061.20 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | WorldView Legion 1 & 2 (2 satellites) | SSO | Maxar Technologies | (LZ4) | ||
Two Maxar Technologies satellites built by subsidiary SSL for subsidiary DigitalGlobe.[325] Ninth flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. | |||||||||
330 | 02:37[326] | F9B5 B1067.19 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-55 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
331 | 18:14[327] | F9B5 B1069.15 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-57 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
332 | 18:42[328] | F9B5 B1083.3 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 6-56 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
333 | 04:30[329] | F9B5 B1082.4 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 8-2 (20 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
334 | 00:53[330] | F9B5 B1073.15 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-58 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
335 | 18:39[331] | F9B5 B1063.18 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 8-7 (20 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
336 | 00:32[332] | F9B5 B1062.21 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-59 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First booster to fly for the 21st time, new record. | |||||||||
337 | 08:00[333] | F9B5 B1071.16 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | NROL-146 (21 Starshield satellites) | SSO | Northrop Grumman/NRO | (OCISLY) | ||
The first of up to 6 launches of SpaceX/Northrop built Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.[334] [335] [336] | |||||||||
338 | 02:35[337] | F9B5 B1080.8 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-62 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
339 | 02:45[338] | F9B5 B1077.13 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 6-63 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
340 | 14:24[339] | F9B5 B1078.10 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-60 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
341 | 22:20[340] | F9B5 B1081.7 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | EarthCARE | SSO | ESA | (LZ4) | ||
EarthCARE (Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer) satellite is the sixth mission in ESA's Earth Explorer program.[341] Tenth flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. This marks the first time SpaceX has completed 13 Falcon launches in a calendar month. | |||||||||
342 | 02:37[342] | F9B5 B1076.14 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 6-64 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Fastest landing-to-landing turnaround of a drone ship, with A Shortfall of Gravitas having serviced the previous Starlink launch only 84 hours prior.[343] First time SpaceX has completed 14 Falcon launches in a calendar month (assuming the launch took place on the evening of 31 May local time). | |||||||||
343 | 02:16[344] | F9B5 B1067.20 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 8-5 (20 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
344 | 01:56[345] | F9B5 B1069.16 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 10-1 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. 300th Falcon 9 booster landing. | |||||||||
345 | 12:58[346] | F9B5 B1061.21 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 8-8 (20 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. Second booster to fly for the 21st time. | |||||||||
346 | 03:40[347] | F9B5 B1082.5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 9-1 (20 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
347 | 21:35[348] | F9B5 B1080.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Astra 1P | GTO | SES | (JRTI) | ||
A SES satellite serving major broadcasters across Europe. | |||||||||
348 | 17:15[349] | F9B5 B1078.11 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 10-2 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. On June 14, a launch attempt was made but the vehicle suffered a launch abort seconds after engine ignition, a rare event. Due to launch abort, SpaceX replaced the problematic stage B1073 and replaced it with B1078.[350] | |||||||||
349 | 03:47[351] | F9B5 B1075.11 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 9–2 (20 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
FH 10 | 21:26[352] | Falcon Heavy B5 B1087 (core) | Kennedy, LC39A | GOES-U | GEO | NOAA | |||
B1072.1 (side) | (LZ1) | ||||||||
B1086.1 (side) | (LZ2) | ||||||||
In September 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX a $152.5 million contract to provide launch services for the GOES-U weather satellite.[353] Fourth time a second stage featured Falcon medium coast mission-extension kit. | |||||||||
350 | 11:14[354] | F9B5 B1062.22 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 10-3 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. First booster to fly for the 22nd time, new record. | |||||||||
351 | 03:14[355] | F9B5 B1081.8 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | NROL-186 (~20 Starshield satellites) | SSO | NRO | (OCISLY) | ||
The second of up to 6 launches of SpaceX/Northrop Grumman built Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. | |||||||||
352 | 08:55[356] | F9B5 B1073.16 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 8-9 (20 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. 100th Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
353 | 23:30[357] | F9B5 B1076.15 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Türksat 6A | GTO | Türksat | (JRTI) | ||
First domestically produced Turkish communications satellite.[358] | |||||||||
354 | 02:35[359] | F9B5 B1063.19 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 9-3 (20 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network, including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity, that failed to reach orbit. The mission experienced a failure of its second stage. While the initial burn proceeded as planned, a subsequent liquid oxygen leak led to engine disintegration during a planned second burn.[360] [361] Without the additional burn, all Starlink satellites were lost due to atmospheric drag.[362] The incident marked the first Falcon 9 Block 5 failure since its introduction, ending a streak of 325 consecutive successful Falcon 9 launches following the pre-flight anomaly of AMOS-6.[363] [364] The FAA initiated a mishap investigation, grounding Falcon 9 launches until concluding that no public safety risks were present.[365] The rocket was cleared to resume flight on 25 July 2024, though the overall investigation remained open.[366] | |||||||||
355 | 05:45[367] | F9B5 B1069.17 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 10-9 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Return-to-flight mission. | |||||||||
356 | 05:09[368] | F9B5 B1077.14 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 10-4 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. 300th Falcon first-stage reflight. | |||||||||
357 | 09:22[369] | F9B5 B1071.17 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 9-4 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
358 | 05:01[370] | F9B5 B1078.12 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 10-6 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
359 | 07:24[371] | F9B5 B1082.6 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 11-1 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
360 | 15:02[372] | F9B5 B1080.10 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | CRS NG-21 | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman (CRS) | (LZ1) | ||
Second of three launches Northrop Grumman acquired from SpaceX while a replacement engine is developed for its Antares rocket. Unmanned Enhanced Cygnus cargo spacecraft named in honor of Francis R. "Dick" Scobee. Eleventh flight with short nozzle second stage which has lower production cost and faster build time, but is only suitable for missions with lower performance requirements. | |||||||||
361 | 12:50[373] | F9B5 B1067.21 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 8-3 (21 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. Including 13 satellites with direct-to-cell connectivity. | |||||||||
362 | 02:02[374] | F9B5 B1061.22 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | ASBM 1 (GX 10A) & ASBM 2 (GX 10B) | ~[375] | Molniya | Space Norway | (OCISLY) | |
Space Norway launched two satellites built by Inmarsat for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) system into highly elliptical Molniya transfer orbits[376] (apogee:, perigee:, 63.4° inclination) to provide communication coverage to high latitudes not served by geosynchronous satellites.[377] [378] [379] Second booster to fly for the 22nd time. | |||||||||
363 | 10:37[380] | F9B5 B1073.17 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 10-7 (23 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | |||||||||
364 | 13:00[381] | F9B5 B1076.16 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | WorldView Legion 3 & 4 (2 satellites) | LEO | Maxar Technologies | (LZ1) | ||
Maxar Technologies built satellites.[382] | |||||||||
365 | 18:56[383] | F9B5 B1075.12 | Vandenberg, SLC-4E | Transporter-11 (116 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (LZ4) | ||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. Fifth time a second stage featured Falcon medium coast mission-extension kit. | |||||||||
366 | 13:20[384] | F9B5 B1085.1 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 10-5 (22 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. |
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.[385] Tentative launch dates are cited from various sources for each launch.[386] [387] [388] [389] Launches are expected to take place "no earlier than" (NET) the listed date. The number of Starlink satellites per launch indicated with an ~ is an expectation based on previous launches to the same orbit, as the exact number is rarely published more than three days in advance.
Date and time (UTC) | Version, booster | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
~08:00 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC-4E | Starlink Group 9-5 (~21 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | |
A West Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | ||||||
~06:13 | F9B5 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 8-6 (~21 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | ||||||
07:38 | F9B5 B1083.4♺ | Kennedy, LC39A | Polaris Dawn (Crew Dragon C207.3 Resilience ♺) | LEO | Polaris Program | |
First of two Crew Dragon missions for the Polaris Program. The Falcon and Crew Dragon are expected to propel Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon into a highly elliptical orbit that will take them up to away, the farthest anyone has been from Earth since NASA's Apollo program. During the five day mission, two members of the crew are expected to attempt the first commercial spacewalk.[390] | ||||||
~07:13 | F9B5 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 8-10 (~23 satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | |
An East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. | ||||||
13 September 2024 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | 2 × Galileo | MEO | ESA | |
Second launch of Galileo satellites.[391] | ||||||
24 September 2024 ~18:30 | F9B5 B1085.2 ♺ | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Crew-9 (Crew Dragon C212.4 Freedom ♺) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS) | |
After first six Crew Dragon launches of NASA USCV award, a further three missions for SpaceX were announced on 3 December 2021. These launches carry up to four astronauts and of cargo to the ISS as well as feature a lifeboat function to evacuate astronauts from ISS in case of an emergency. First crewed mission to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40.[392] | ||||||
September 2024 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | GSAT-20 (CMS-03) | GTO | New Space India Limited Dish TV | |
Indian telecommunications satellite for Dish TV.[393] [394] Originally planned to launch on ISRO's LVM3,[395] but later shifted to Falcon 9 due to mass and scheduling issues.[396] < | --4700kg is overweight for LVM3's 4000 kg GTO capacity, logical fact, initially it weighed 3,650kg--> It will be the first ISRO-made satellite to move from geostationary transfer orbit to geostationary orbit using electric propulsion.[397] | |||||
2024 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking layer T1TL-B | Polar LEO | SDA | |
Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2022.[398] [399] | ||||||
Q3 2024[400] [401] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | MicroGEO (4 satellites)[402] | GEO | Astranis | |
Dedicated Falcon 9 launch to put four Astranis MicroGEO communications satellites into service in 2023. The MicroGEOs will be launched to a custom geostationary orbit, with the four satellites individually conducting on-orbit maneuvers to inject themselves into their orbital slots. However, it is unclear whether this will be a direct to geostationary orbit insertion, or an optimized geostationary transfer orbit. The four spacecraft will be mounted to a standard adapter ring, known as an ESPA-Grande, for ease of deployment. | ||||||
Q3 2024[403] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | BlueBird Block 1 (5 satellites)[404] | LEO | AST SpaceMobile | |
Cellphone-compatible broadband constellation. Each satellite is to be a similar size and weight to its 1,500-kilogram BlueWalker 3 prototype and have a 64 square meter phased array antenna. | ||||||
7 October 2024 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Hera with Juventas and Milani | Heliocentric | ESA | |
Hera is a space mission in development at the European Space Agency in its Space Safety program. Its primary objective is to study the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted by DART and contribute to validation of the kinetic impact method to deviate a near-Earth asteroid in a colliding trajectory with Earth. It will measure the size and the morphology of the crater created by and momentum transferred by an artificial projectile impacting an asteroid, which will allow measuring the efficiency of the deflection produced by the impact. It will also carry two nano-satellite CubeSats, called Milani and Juventas. | ||||||
10 October 2024[405] | Falcon Heavy B5 B1090(core) | Kennedy, LC39A | Europa Clipper | Heliocentric | NASA | |
B1064.6(side)♺ | ||||||
B1065.6(side)♺ | ||||||
Europa Clipper will conduct a detailed survey of Europa and use a sophisticated suite of science instruments to investigate whether the icy moon has conditions suitable for life. Key mission objectives are to produce high-resolution images of Europa's surface, determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity, measure the thickness of the moon's icy shell, search for subsurface lakes, and determine the depth and salinity of Europa's ocean.[406] The mission will fly past Mars and Earth before arriving at Jupiter in April 2030.[407] [408] The side boosters and the center core will all be expended.[409] | ||||||
Mid-October 2024 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | SpaceX CRS-31 | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | |
Six additional CRS-2 missions for Dragon 2 were announced in March 2022, resupplying the ISS until 2026. | ||||||
October 2024[410] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Blue Ghost M1[411] [412] | TLI | Firefly Aerospace NASA (CLPS) | |
Firefly Aerospace has selected SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to deliver the Blue Ghost lunar lander to the lunar surface.[413] Blue Ghost will carry 10 payloads for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order 19D mission along with other separately contracted payloads.[414] | ||||||
October 2024 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Transporter-12 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | ||||||
October 2024 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking layer T1TL-C | Polar LEO | SDA | |
Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2022. | ||||||
November 2024 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Spainsat-NG I[415] | GTO | Hisdesat | |
Communications satellite built on the Eurostar-Neo platform, to be utilized by the Spanish government and its allies.[416] First of two launches for the Spainsat-NG program. | ||||||
November 2024 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Bandwagon-2 (smallsat rideshare)[417] | LEO | Various | |
425 Project Flight 3 | Republic of Korea Armed Forces | |||||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to 45 degree inclination 550–600 km altitude. 425 Project Flight 3 is a military satellite of South Korea with a mass of ~800 kg.[418] | ||||||
November 2024 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking layer T1TL-D | Polar LEO | SDA | |
Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2022. | ||||||
December 2024 | F9B5 | Kennedy, LC39A[419] | IM-2 Nova-C lunar lander Sherpa-ES | TLI | NASA (CLPS) Intuitive Machines Spaceflight, Inc. | |
Intuitive Machines is sending its second lander aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, with a projected launch time frame in late 2024. In February 2024, Intuitive Machines has completed its first lander mission via SpaceX, which is also hosting payloads for other private companies seeking to make lunar landfall under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. NASA's PRIME-1 is expected to be included.[420] The Sherpa-ES Go Beyond orbital transfer vehicle will deploy rideshare payloads to trans-lunar orbit, low-lunar orbit and beyond to GEO.[421] [422] [423] NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission will fly as a secondary payload on this mission.[424] | ||||||
December 2024 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking layer T1TL-E | Polar LEO | SDA | |
Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2022. | ||||||
Q4 2024 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | SDA Tranche 1 Transport layer T1TR-C | Polar LEO | SDA | |
Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2022. | ||||||
Q4 2024 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Fram2 (Crew Dragon C210.4 Endurance ♺) | Polar LEO | Chun Wang | |
First ever crewed mission launched into Polar Orbit and to fly over Earth's Poles.[425] | ||||||
Q4 2024[426] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Koreasat 6A[427] | GTO | KT Sat | |
South Korean communications satellite built on the Spacebus-4000B2 platform. To be positioned at 116° East.[428] | ||||||
H2 2024[429] < | --2nd Q of FY23 is Jan-Mar 2023 but no slots in Q1 and not heard of any imminent launch so bump to Q2. Now bump to Q3 as https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/?search=SpaceX and others show July--> | F9B5[430] | TBA (FL)[431] | USSF-36 | USSF | |
Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2021.[432] | ||||||
H2 2024[433] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | O3b mPOWER 7 & 8 | MEO | SES | |
In August 2020, SES expanded the O3b mPOWER contract with two additional launches, raising the number of satellites from 7 to 11 satellites at nearly 2 tons each.[434] [435] In October 2023 the mission was delayed to the second half of 2024 due to electrical issues discovered in the first four satellites of the constellation. | ||||||
H2 2024[436] | F9B5 ♺ | TBA (FL) | WorldView Legion 5 & 6 (2 satellites)[437] [438] [439] | SSO | Maxar Technologies | |
Maxar Technologies built satellites. | ||||||
H2 2024< | --4th Q of FY23 is July-Sep 2023 but this has passed. Nextspaceflight shows January 2024 but they always show a month whereas a more vague H1 2024 seems more appropriate with so little news about this launch. --> | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | NROL-69 | USSF | |
Launch part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2021. | ||||||
Late 2024[440] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Nusantara Lima[441] | GTO? | PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara | |
A hot backup system for SATRIA-1.[442] | ||||||
2024 | F9B5 ♺ | TBA (FL) | DOGE-1 | TLI | Geometric Energy | |
Originally expected to be a secondary rideshare payload on IM-1 mission but the 40 kg was later postponed to a later date due to incomplete radio and launch requirements.[443] | ||||||
2024[444] | F9B5 | TBD | ispace 2nd lunar lander[445] | TLI | ispace | |
Second lunar lander built by Japanese company ispace. | ||||||
2024[446] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Thuraya 4-NGS | GTO | Thuraya | |
Planned replacement for Thuraya 2.[447] | ||||||
2024 | F9B5 | TBD | Reentry demonstration capsule | LEO | The Exploration Company | |
1600 kg 2.5 metre diameter reduced scale test of a reentry capsule, the full-scale version Nyx (4 metre diameter 8000 kg) is planned to deliver payloads to the ISS and return them back to Earth.[448] | ||||||
2024? | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | USSF-31 | USSF | ||
Classified mission, part of Phase 2 US Space Force contract awarded in 2022. |
Date and time (UTC) | Version, booster | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
27 February 2025 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | SPHEREx PUNCH[449] | SSO | NASA |
In February 2021, NASA announced a $99 million contract for its Astrophysics Division.[450] | |||||
February 2025 | F9B5 | TBD | Transporter-13 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | |||||
February 2025 | F9B5 | TBD | Bandwagon-3 (smallsat rideshare) | LEO | Various |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to 45 degree inclination 550–600 km altitude. | |||||
February 2025 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | CRS NG-22 | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman (CRS) |
Third of three launches Northrop Grumman acquired from SpaceX while a replacement engine is developed for its Antares rocket. Unmanned Enhanced Cygnus cargo spacecraft. | |||||
29 April 2025[451] | F9B5 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)[452] | Sun–Earth L1 | NASA |
In September 2020, NASA selected SpaceX to launch the IMAP mission, which will help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere, a magnetic barrier surrounding our solar system. The total launch cost is approximately US$109.4 million. The secondary payloads include two NASA heliophysics missions of opportunity and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) mission. | |||||
April 2025 | F9B5 | TBD | TRACERS[453] | SSO | NASA |
Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) is a Small Explorers program mission. Expected to be part of a rideshare mission.[454] | |||||
April 2025 onwards | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | 12 launches for Rivada broadband constellation[455] | LEO | Rivada Space Networks |
In March 2023, Rivada contracted SpaceX to launch 300 B2B broadband satellites over 12 Falcon 9 launches between April 2025 and June 2026. | |||||
May 2025 | F9B5 | TBD | Bandwagon-4 (smallsat rideshare) | LEO | Various |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to 45 degree inclination 550–600 km altitude. | |||||
June 2025[456] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Spainsat NG II | GTO | Hisdesat |
Communications satellite built on the Eurostar-Neo platform, to be utilized by the Spanish government and its allies. Second of two launches for the Spainsat-NG program. | |||||
June 2025 | F9B5 | TBD | Transporter-14 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | |||||
Q2 2025[457] |
|-| rowspan="2" |H2 2025 onwards (3 flights)[458] [459] |F9B5|TBD|Project Kuiper constellation deployment|LEO|Kuiper Systems / Amazon|-| colspan="5" |Announced Dec 1st, 2023. Three Falcon 9 launches beginning in the second half of 2025 in support of Amazon's Project Kuiper megaconstellation.|-| rowspan=2 | August 2025| F9B5| TBD| Haven-1[460] | LEO| Vast|-| colspan=5 | Launch of a new commercial space station by Vast Space.
|-| rowspan=2 | September 2025| F9B5| Kennedy, LC39A| Vast-1| LEO| Vast|-| colspan=5 | First crewed mission to the Haven-1 space station.
|-| rowspan="4" | September 2025[461] | Falcon Heavy B5
B10??.1 (core)|rowspan="3"| Kennedy, LC39A|rowspan="3" |Griffin Mission 1[462] |rowspan="3"| TLI|rowspan="3"|Astrobotic
NASA (Artemis)|-|B1072.2 (side)|-|B1086.2 (side)|-| colspan=5 | Astrobotic's Griffin lunar lander was originally expected to deliver NASA's VIPER rover to the lunar south pole prior to its cancellation. Booster recovery method is unconfirmed, but could possibly feature the first Falcon Heavy center core recovery attempt since STP-2.[463] Amidst cost growth and delays to readiness of the rover and the Griffin lander, the VIPER program was ended in July 2024, with the rover planned to be disassembled and its instruments and components reused for other lunar missions.[464] [465] [466] The agency still plans to support the Griffin lander to arrive on the moon in fall of 2025, though with a mass simulator in place of the VIPER rover.[467] NASA expects the primary objectives of VIPER to be fulfilled by an array of other missions planned for the next several years.
|-| rowspan=2 | October 2025[468] | F9B5| Kennedy, LC39A| IM-3 Nova-C lunar lander| TLI| NASA (CLPS)
Intuitive Machines|-| colspan=5 | Third mission for Intuitive Machines, with multiple rideshare payloads.[469] This mission was selected by NASA under the CLPS program in November 2021.[470] [471]
|-| rowspan=2 | October 2025| F9B5| TBD| Transporter-15 (smallsat rideshare)| SSO| Various|-| colspan=5 | Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit.
|-| rowspan=2 | November 2025| F9B5| Vandenberg, SLC4E| Sentinel-6B[472] | LEO| NASA/NOAA/EUMETSAT/ESA|-| colspan=5 |Identical to Sentinel-6A.[473]
|-| rowspan=2 | Q4 2025[474] | F9B5| TBA (FL)| CHORUS| LEO| MDA|-| colspan=5 | Announced in October 2023, CHORUS will be a commercial Earth observation constellation owned and operated by MDA Ltd. Will utilize C and X-band SAR.
|-| rowspan=2 | 2025| F9B5| TBA (FL)| Globalstar-3 M104–120 (17 satellites)[475] | LEO| Globalstar|-| colspan=5 | Globalstar's third-generation satellite constellation, launching to a 52 degree inclination orbit at an altitude of 1,410 km.[476]
|-| rowspan=2 | 2025| F9B5| TBA (FL)| MTG-S1| GTO| EUMETSAT|-| colspan=5 | Geostationary weather satellite. Launch vehicle changed from Ariane 6 to Falcon 9.[477]
|-| rowspan=2 | 2025| F9B5| TBA (FL)| O3b mPOWER 9-11[478] | MEO| SES|-| colspan=5 | In August 2020, SES expanded the O3b mPOWER contract with a fourth launch.[479] In October 2023 the mission was delayed to 2025 due to electrical issues discovered in the first four satellites of the constellation.
|-| rowspan=2 | 2025[480] | F9B5| TBA (FL)| Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) × 1[481]
Mission Extension Pod (MEP) × 3| GTO| Northrop Grumman|-| colspan=5 | Developed from Northrop Grumman's 2,000 kg Mission Extension Vehicle architecture. One MEP (400 kg each) will be attached to Optus D3.[482]
|-| rowspan=2 | 2025| F9B5| TBA (FL)| Skynet 6A[483] | GTO| Airbus / UK Ministry of Defence|-| colspan=5 |British military communications satellite ordered to bridge the gap between Skynet-5 and its successor.[484]
|-| rowspan="2" | ~2025| F9B5| Vandenberg, SLC4E| SDA Tranche 1 Transport layer T1TL-F| Polar LEO| SDA|-| colspan="5" | Launch is part of Phase 2 US Air Force contract awarded in 2022.
|-| rowspan="2" | ~2025| F9B5| Vandenberg, SLC4E| SDA Tranche 1 Transport layer T1TR-A| Polar LEO| SDA|-| colspan="5" | Launch is part of Phase 2 US Air Force contract awarded in 2022.
|-| rowspan="2" | ~2025| F9B5| Vandenberg, SLC4E| SDA Tranche 1 Transport layer T1TR-E| Polar LEO| SDA|-| colspan="5" | Launch is part of Phase 2 US Air Force contract awarded in 2022.
|-| rowspan="2" | ~2025| F9B5| Vandenberg, SLC4E| SDA Tranche 1 Transport layer T2TL-A| Polar LEO| SDA|-| colspan="5" | Launch is part of Phase 2 US Air Force contract awarded in 2022.
|-| rowspan="2" | ~2025| F9B5| Vandenberg, SLC4E| SDA Tranche 1 Transport layer T2TL-C| Polar LEO| SDA|-| colspan="5" | Launch is part of Phase 2 US Air Force contract awarded in 2022.
|-| rowspan="2" | ~2025| F9B5| TBA (FL)| NROL-77| Classified| NRO|-| colspan="5" | Launch is part of Phase 2 US Air Force contract awarded in 2022.
|-| rowspan="2" | ~2025| F9B5| TBA (FL)| GPS III-10|MEO| USSF|-| colspan="5" | Launch is part of Phase 2 US Air Force contract awarded in 2022.
|-| rowspan=2 | 2025–2026
(4 flights)| F9B5| TBA (FL)| SpaceX CRS-32 to SpaceX CRS-35| LEO (ISS)| NASA (CRS)|-| colspan=5 | Six additional CRS-2 missions for Dragon 2 were announced in March 2022, resupplying the ISS until 2026.
|}
Date and time (UTC) | Version, booster | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Q1 2026 | F9B5 | TBD | Transporter-16 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | ||||||
Q2 2026 | F9B5 | TBD | Transporter-17 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | ||||||
Q4 2026 | F9B5 | TBD | Transporter-18 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | ||||||
~2026 | Falcon Heavy B5 | Kennedy, LC39A | USSF-75[485] | GSO | USSF | |
~2026 | Falcon Heavy B5 | Kennedy, LC39A | USSF-70 | GSO | USSF | |
2026[486] | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Arabsat 7A[487] | GTO | Arabsat | |
Announced in September 2022, Arabsat 7A will enter a geostationary orbit after its launch by a Falcon 9 rocket. | ||||||
2026 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | O3b mPOWER 12 & 13 | MEO | SES | |
Two additional satellites were announced in October 2023 due to electrical issues discovered in the first four satellites of the constellation. | ||||||
2026 | Falcon Heavy B5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Astrobotic Technology Lunar Lander[488] | TLI | Astrobotic Technology | |
Astrobotic's third upcoming lander mission to the Moon. Targeting a South Pole landing in 2026. | ||||||
October 2026-[489] [490] [491] | Falcon Heavy B5 | Kennedy, LC39A | GPS IIIF-1[492] [493] | MEO | USSF | |
First GPS Block IIIF launch. | ||||||
2026 and later (14 flights) | F9B5 | TBD | Telesat Lightspeed × 18 | LEO | Telesat | |
Announced in September 2023, Telesat has booked 14 launches of up to 18 satellites each.[494] | ||||||
2026–2030 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | 5 more launches (Crew-10 through Crew-14)[495] | LEO (ISS) | NASA (ISS) | |
In June 2022, NASA announced it purchased an additional 5 crewed flights from SpaceX in addition to the previous 9 missions on top of the $3.5 billion contract.[496] | ||||||
Q1 2027 | F9B5 | TBD | Transporter-19 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | ||||||
May 2027[497] | Falcon Heavy B5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope[498] | NASA | ||
Flagship-class infrared space telescope. | ||||||
Q2 2027 | F9B5 | TBD | Transporter-20 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | ||||||
August 2027 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | COSI[499] | LEO | NASA | |
Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI). | ||||||
Q4 2027 | F9B5 | TBD | Transporter-21 (smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | |
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit. | ||||||
H2 2027 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | GEO-KOMPSAT-3[500] | GTO | KASA | |
Also known as Cheollian-3. A South Korean communication satellite with a mass of 3.7 tonnes, replacing GEO-Kompsat-1. | ||||||
2027 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Al Yah 4[501] | GTO | Yahsat | |
Replacement for Al Yah 1. | ||||||
2027 | F9B5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | JPSS-4[502] | SSO | NOAA | |
Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). | ||||||
2027[503] | Falcon Heavy B5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO)[504] | TLI | NASA (Artemis) | |
First two Gateway space station modules as part of the Artemis program, awarded in February 2021. The launch will cost NASA $331.8 million and will utilize Falcon Heavy's extended fairing. | ||||||
2028 | F9B5 | TBA (FL) | Al Yah 5 | GTO | Yahsat | |
Replacement for Al Yah 2. | ||||||
2028[505] [506] | Falcon Heavy B5 | Kennedy, LC39A | GLS-1 (Dragon XL) | 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 new variant of the Dragon spacecraft that will carry over 5 tonnes of cargo to the Lunar Gateway on 6–12 months long missions.[507] [508] | ||||||
2028 | F9B5 | TBD | GRACE-C1, C2[509] | Polar LEO | NASA / DLR | |
Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment-Continuity (GRACE-C). | ||||||
2029 | Falcon Heavy B5 | Kennedy, LC39A | GLS-2 (Dragon XL)[510] | TLI | NASA (Gateway Logistics Services) | |
Second Dragon XL logistics module. | ||||||
TBD | F9B5 | TBD | CAS500-4[511] | SSO | Korea Aerospace Industries | |
A satellite to monitor Korean agriculture.< | -- End of future launches table --> |
See main article: Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit, COTS Demo Flight 1, Dragon C2+ and SpaceX CRS-1.
On 4 June 2010, the first Falcon 9 launch successfully placed a test payload into the intended orbit.[512] The second launch of Falcon 9 was COTS Demo Flight 1, which placed an operational Dragon capsule in orbit on 8 December 2010.[513] The capsule re-entered the atmosphere after two orbits, allowing for testing the reentry procedures. The capsule was recovered off the coast of Mexico[514] and then placed on display at SpaceX headquarters.[515] The remaining objectives of the NASA COTS qualification program were combined into a single Dragon C2+ mission, on the condition that all milestones would be validated in space before berthing Dragon to the ISS.[516] The Dragon capsule was propelled to orbit in May 2012, and following successful tests in the next days it was grabbed with the station's robotic arm (Canadarm2) and docked to the ISS docking port for the first time on 25 May. After successfully completing all the return procedures, the recovered Dragon C2+ capsule was put on display at Kennedy Space Center.[517] Thus, Falcon 9 and Dragon 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 cargo deliveries.[518]
The first operational cargo resupply mission to ISS, the fourth flight of Falcon 9, was launched in October 2012. An engine suffered a loss of pressure at 76 seconds after liftoff, which caused an automatic shutdown of that engine, but the remaining eight first-stage engines continued to burn and the Dragon capsule reached orbit successfully and thus demonstrated the rocket's "engine out" capability in flight.[519] Due to ISS visiting vehicle safety rules, at NASA's request, the secondary payload Orbcomm-2 was released into a lower-than-intended orbit.[520] Despite this incident, Orbcomm said they gathered useful test data from the mission and later in 2014, launched more satellites via SpaceX.[521] 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.[522]
Following unsuccessful attempts at recovering the first stage with parachutes, SpaceX upgraded to a much larger first stage booster and with greater thrust, termed Falcon 9 v1.1, and performed a demonstration flight of this version in September 2013.[523] After the second stage separation and delivering CASSIOPE, a very small payload relative to the rocket's capability, 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.[524]
See main article: SpaceX CRS-7.
In June 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 (and only as of May 2024) primary mission loss for any Falcon 9 rocket.[525] In addition to ISS consumables and experiments, this mission carried the first International Docking Adapter (IDA-1), whose loss delayed preparedness of the station's US Orbital Segment (USOS) for future crewed missions.[526]
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.[527] 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.[528] [529] 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.[530]
See main article: Falcon 9 flight 20 and SpaceX CRS-8.
After pausing launches for months, SpaceX launched on 22 December 2015, the highly anticipated return-to-flight mission after the loss of CRS-7. This launch inaugurated a new Falcon 9 Full Thrust version 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,[531] 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.[532] After recovery, the first stage booster performed further ground tests and then was put on permanent display outside SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California.[533]
On 8 April 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.[534] This was the fourth attempt to land on a drone ship, as part of the company's experimental controlled-descent and landing tests.[535]
See main article: AMOS-6.
On 1 September 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.[536] 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.[537]
See main article: Zuma (satellite).
Zuma was a classified United States government satellite and was developed and built by Northrop Grumman at an estimated cost of US$3.5 billion. 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.[538] Unconfirmed reports suggested that the Zuma spacecraft was lost, 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. 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".[539] 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.[540] [541] Due to the classified nature of the mission, no further official information is expected.
See main article: Falcon Heavy test flight.
The maiden launch of the Falcon Heavy occurred on 6 February 2018, making it the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V, with a theoretical payload capacity to low Earth orbit more than double the Delta IV Heavy.[542] [543] Both side boosters landed nearly simultaneously after a ten-minute flight. The central core failed to land on a floating platform at sea.[544] The rocket carried a car and a mannequin to an eccentric heliocentric orbit that reaches further than aphelion of Mars.[545]
See main article: Crew Dragon Demo-1 and Crew Dragon Demo-2.
On 2 March 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.[546] Also on board was Earth plush toy referred to as a "Super high tech zero-g indicator".[547] The toy became a hit with astronaut Anne McClain, who showed the plushy on the ISS each day[548] and also deciding to keep it on board to experience the crewed SpX-DM2.
The Dragon spent six days in space, including five days 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 8 March 2019, at 08:45 EST, off the coast of Florida.[549]
SpaceX held a successful launch of the first commercial orbital human space flight on 30 May 2020, crewed with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. Both astronauts focused on conducting tests on the Crew Dragon capsule. Crew Dragon successfully returned to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico on 2 August 2020.[550]
On July 12, 2024, SpaceX launched a group of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. While the booster performed nominally, including a successful droneship landing, the upper stage failed to relight for a second burn, with ice appearing to accumulate around the engine during the first burn due to a liquid oxygen leak that developed from vibrational fatique which led to a crack in a pressure sensor line.[551] The satellites were deployed from the upper stage into the lower initial parking orbit with a perigee of 135 km, less than half the targeted perigee.[552] After separation, the satellites were commanded to burn their ion thrusters. SpaceX modified the satellite software so the thrusters would produce as much thrust as possible.[553] The satellites are most likely going to reenter the atmosphere due to drag reducing the apogee by over 5 km each orbit. This launch was the first Falcon 9 Block 5 or Falcon 9 Full Thrust failure thereby ending the Guinness World Record of 325 successful Falcon 9 launches since the pre-flight anomaly of AMOS-6.[554] [555]
See main article: SpaceX reusable launch system development program and List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters.
SpaceX has developed a program to reuse the first-stage booster, setting multiple booster reflight records: