SpaceX now aiming for 40 reflights per Falcon 9 booster

SpaceX aiming for the first stage Falcon 9 booster rocket to achieve 40 reflights. This plan was announced right after the launch of the European Commission’s Galileo L12 mission to orbit.

This mission also exceeded the 20th reusable flight count for the first-stage booster. The medium Earth orbit deployment required additional performance enhancements for the stage and marked its final launch.

The evolution of the Falcon 9 rocket is remarkable, its journey started with no reusable technology, then achieved 2 reflights, followed by 10, and now 20 reflights per booster.

“We’re working toward qualifying our fleet of Falcon boosters and fairings to support 40 missions each,” wrote the company after the Galileo L12 mission.

Achieving 40 reusable flights could be a major challenge for the company as it will require major finetuning in the design and launch procedure. However, the Falcon 9 has already cleared a huge milestone in its development.

There’s no official figure available about the maximum flights for payload fairings but it could have been significantly higher. This is due to experiencing less stress compared to booster during launch and re-entry.

SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California (Image Credit: SpaceX)

Reusability is an important aspect of space launches, this reduces the cost burden on each flight instead of investing a whole lot on building a new launch vehicle. It not only benefits the launch provider but also the customer in terms of per-flight price.

It improves faster turnaround times between launches. A reusable booster could be refurbished to support a new launch instead of building a new one for each liftoff. Reusability also improves sustainability for the environment.

Starship:

Falcon 9 sits at the core of SpaceX’s rapid reusability program and generates data for new vehicle development including super heavy and Starship spacecraft. 40 Falcon 9 booster reflights are an ambitious goal and a fast development, SpaceX could make it happen.