SpaceX reusable launch system development program

SpaceX reusable launch system development program

Falcon 9 Flight 20's first stage (Full Thrust B1019) landing vertically on Landing Zone 1 in December 2015
Program overview
Country	United States
Organization	SpaceX
Purpose	Reusable launch system
Status	Active
Program history
Duration	2011–present
First flight	SpaceX CRS-3
Launch site(s)	Cape Canaveral SLC-40 Kennedy Space Center LC-39A Vandenberg SLC-4E
Vehicle information
Launch vehicle(s)	Falcon 9 Falcon Heavy Starship

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SpaceX has privately funded the development of orbital launch systems that can be reused many times, similar to the reusability of aircraft. SpaceX has developed technologies over the last decade to facilitate full and rapid reuse of space launch vehicles. The project's long-term objectives include returning a launch vehicle first stage to the launch site within minutes and to return a second stage to the launch pad, following orbital realignment with the launch site and atmospheric reentry in up to 24 hours. SpaceX's long term goal would have been reusability of both stages of their orbital launch vehicle, and the first stage would be designed to allow reuse a few hours after return.^[1] Development of reusable second stages for Falcon 9 was later abandoned in favor of developing Starship.^[2] However, SpaceX still developed reusable payload fairings for the Falcon 9.^[3]

The program was announced in 2011. SpaceX first achieved a successful landing and recovery of a first stage in December 2015. The first re-flight of a landed first stage occurred in March 2017^[3] with the second occurring in June 2017, that one only five months after the maiden flight of the booster.^[4] The third attempt occurred in October 2017 with the SES-11/EchoStar-105 mission. Reflights of refurbished first stages then became routine. In May 2021, B1051 became the first booster to launch ten missions.^[5]

The reusable launch system technology was initially developed for the first stage of Falcon 9.^[6] After stage separation, the booster flips around (an optional boostback burn reverses its course), a reentry burn sheds gravity-induced speed to prevent stage overheating as the spacecraft reenters the thicker part of the atmosphere, and a landing burn accomplishes the final low-altitude deceleration and touchdown.

SpaceX planned since at least 2014 to develop reusable second stages, a more challenging engineering problem because the vehicle is traveling at orbital velocity.^[7][6][8] Second stage reuse is considered vital to Elon Musk's plans for settlement of Mars. Initial concepts for a reusable Falcon 9 second stage were abandoned by 2018.^[2]

As of 2023^[update], SpaceX is developing the Starship system to be a fully-reusable two-stage launch vehicle, intended to replace all of its other launch vehicles and spacecraft for satellite delivery and human transport—Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon—and eventually support flights to the Moon and Mars. It could theoretically be used for point-to-point transportation on Earth.^[9]