Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Space
  3. News

SpaceX sets new annual launch record for Falcon rockets

By

At the start of 2023, SpaceX had its sights set on achieving 100 Falcon rocket launches by December 31. It breezed past its current annual record of 60 launches in September, but looks set to just fall short of its ambitious target for this year.

In SpaceX’s busiest 12-month period since launching the first Falcon rocket in 2010, it’s so far achieved 90 flights using its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket and four missions using its Falcon Heavy rocket, which is basically three Falcon 9 boosters linked together.

Recommended Videos

Before the end of the year, SpaceX plans to fly one more Falcon Heavy rocket mission and two more Falcon 9 missions, taking its total number of Falcon flights to 97. If you want to throw in its Starship missions as well, both of which failed soon after launch, then the total increases to 99 liftoffs completed by SpaceX in 2023.

Related

SpaceX has come a long way since its maiden Falcon launch 13 years ago. The company’s goal was always to design a spaceflight system capable of landing the 41.2.-meter-tall booster upright back on land or on a floating barge so that it could reuse the component for multiple missions.

SpaceX achieved its first successful booster landing in 2015, and these days successfully lands almost all of its Falcon rockets soon after launch. On Saturday, a Falcon 9 mission deploying more satellites for SpaceX’s internet-from-space Starlink system saw it land a first-stage booster for a record 19th time. The reusable system developed by SpaceX has enabled it to offer highly competitive launch rates, opening up space to more companies and organizations keen to send small satellites to orbit.

In its most recent mission on Sunday, a Falcon 9 launched a satellite from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California for the German Intelligence Service. SpaceX shared some images showing the early stages of the mission:

More photos of today's Falcon 9 launch and landing pic.twitter.com/JH9Koqxha1

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 24, 2023

After a short Christmas break, the SpaceX team will get back to work to finish the year with three launches, two involving the Falcon 9 and one using the Falcon Heavy.

It’s been the busiest year yet for SpaceX, but with 2024’s launch calendar rapidly filling up, and the focus shifting to getting its mighty Starship rocket to orbit, next year looks set to be even busier.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
See SpaceX’s mighty Starship on the launchpad ahead of sixth test flight
spacex starship on pad sixth test flight gcnypiwa4aaqgll 75

As SpaceX gears up for the sixth test flight of its mighty Starship, the company has shared images of the rocket out on the launchpad at the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The images capture the striking view of the almost 400-foot-tall rocket, with the 165-foot-tall upper stage mounted on top of the Super Heavy booster.

The test flight is scheduled for Monday, November 18, with the aim being to test new facilities such as burning one of the Raptor engines on the upper stage while in space to test future abilities to perform a deorbit burn. The company will also be hoping to once again catch the incoming booster for reuse using the giant "chopsticks" at its pad, as it previously did for the first time during the fifth test flight of the Starship in October.

Read more
SpaceX Dragon to give the International Space Station an altitude boost today
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the space station.

Friday will see a new event for the International Space Station (ISS) as a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is used to boost its altitude for the first time. As drag works on the space station, its altitude gradually degrades over time, and so it needs to be given an occasional push to keep it at its correct altitude, around 250 miles from the Earth's surface.

The reboost is scheduled for today, November 8, as one of the Dragons that is currently docked to the space station will fire its thrusters for around 12.5 minutes. There are currently two Dragons docked -- one of which carried crew and one of which carried cargo to the station. The cargo vehicle will perform the boost maneuver. As this is the first time this has been attempted, NASA and SpaceX personnel will observe the event carefully.

Read more
What to expect from SpaceX’s sixth megarocket test flight
SpaceX's Super Heavy launch during the fifth test flight of the Starship.

As it unleashes a record 17 million pounds of thrust at launch, the sight of SpaceX’s 120-meter-tall Starship rocket roaring skyward is something to behold.

The Elon Musk-led spaceflight company has already performed five Starship flights since the first one in April 2023, with each one more successful than the last. Comprising the upper-stage Starship spacecraft and the first-stage Super Heavy booster (collectively known as the Starship), the giant vehicle willo be used by NASA for crew and cargo missions to the moon, Mars, and possibly beyond.

Read more