SpaceX launches have become extremely routine. On Tuesday evening, SpaceX launched its 42nd rocket of the year, carrying yet another passel of Starlink satellites into orbit. Chances are, you didn't even notice.

All the same, the cumulative numbers are mind-boggling. SpaceX is now launching at a rate of one mission every 2.7 days this year. Consider that, from the mid-1980s through the 2010s, the record for the total number of launches worldwide in any given year was 129. This year alone, SpaceX is on pace for between 130 and 140 total launches.

But with Tuesday evening's mission, there was a singular number that stood out: 300. The Falcon family, which includes the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters, recorded its 300th successful first-stage landing. //

Landing 300 rockets means SpaceX has preserved 2,700 Merlin rocket engines. //

Only a handful of rockets have ever launched more than 300 times, and they are all Russian. Several different Soyuz variants have launched over the years, with the Soyuz-U the all-time champion with 786 launches, followed by the Kosmos-3M booster with 445 launches and the Proton-K booster with 211 launches. //

Across all of its variants and dating back to its debut in 1966, the Soyuz rocket has launched more than 1,700 times. Nearly six decades on, it's still going, and the Soyuz will likely continue to fly a dozen missions or so per year for much of the rest of this decade, if not beyond. //

peterford Ars Praefectus
14y
3,643
Subscriptor++
"landing an orbital class rocket booster on boat is boring" is not something I thought I'd write.
I remember being super excited about the first! //

Lexomatic Ars Centurion
13y
241
Subscriptor++
Dje said:
Do we know what was the percentage of Falcon 9 launches dedicated exclusively to Starlink satellites?
During 2024 to date, 66% (27 of 40 production missions). The other 13 comprised four for NASA to the ISS (i.e., Commercial Cargo and Commercial Crew) and nine third-party (two USSF, one lunar lander, two rideshares with a total of 64 craft, and various commsats). The relative masses are 430 mt and >55 mt (the USSF masses are unknown).