![]() ![]() (Image credit: SpaceX)Įach recovery attempt and subsequent post-flight inspection process teaches SpaceX more and more about how much wear and tear occurs after a launch. This SpaceX graphic shows the eight previous flights of the Falcon 9 rocket that made its 9th flight on March 14, 2021. However company officials have stressed that while booster recovery is a bonus, the main objective is to deliver whatever payload the rocket is carrying to space. Having a fleet of flight-proven rockets at its disposal, allows SpaceX to keep up with its rapid launch cadence. As these two boosters approach that 10-flight milestone, the company is closely monitoring the wear and tear each receives during flight. ![]() SpaceX designed its Falcon 9 rocket to fly as many as 10 times with little-to-no refurbishments needed in between flights. (The record was between flights 7 and 8, which took off just 38 days apart.)ī1051's counterpart, B1049, has flown eight times, with its most recent flight blasting off on March 4, following several delays due to weather and the need for more prelaunch checkouts. 20, SpaceX engineers were able to turn it around the booster and prep for a historic ninth flight in just 53 days - the second quickest turnaround time for this particular booster. Sunday's mission marks the eighth flight overall for SpaceX in 2021, and the second flight this year for this particular booster. The booster then flew a total of five times from Florida in 2020, carrying five different Starlink missions and a broadband satellite for Sirius XM. The veteran flier first flew in March of 2019, lofting an uncrewed Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a demonstration mission.įollowing that first mission, B1051 traveled cross-country to launch a trio of Earth-observing satellites for Canada from SpaceX's facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The booster, B1051, is one of two in SpaceX's stable of reusable rockets that has more than seven flights under its belt. SpaceX's most-flown Falcon 9 booster stands atop the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You after a successful landing - its 9th so far - in the Atlantic Ocean on March 14, 2021. ![]()
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