Starlink launch

Dale Skran
© by Dale Skran, NSS Chief Operating Officer
Image: February 3 Starlink launch, courtesy SpaceX

SpaceX has just completed a remarkable ten launch sequence in the two months starting 12/2/21 and ending 2/2/22, running at a rate of more than one orbital rocket per week. Although this run did not include a crewed Dragon 2 or a Falcon Heavy, it was still pretty amazing:

Date launched/ interval between Mission Booster number Spaceport Type
12/2/21 Starlink 4-3 1060-9 C-40, FL Commercial
12/9/21 (+7 day) IXPE 1061-5 C-39A, FL NASA
12/18/21 (+9 days) Starlink 4-4 1051-11 Vandenberg, CA Commercial
12/18/21 (+0 days) Turksat 5B 1067-3 C-40, FL Commercial
12/21/21 (+3 days) CRS2 Spx-24 1069 C-39A, FL NASA
1/6/22 (+16 days) Starlink 4-5 1062-4 C-39A, FL Commercial
1/13/22 (+7 days) Transporter-3 1058-10 C-40, FL Commercial
1/18/22(+5 days) Starlink 4-6 1060-10 C-39A, FL Commercial
1/31/22(+3 days) CSG-2 1052-3 C-40, FL Commercial
2/2/22(+2 days) NROL-87 1071 Vandenberg, CA US Military
2/3/22(+1 day) Starlink 4-7 1061-6 C-39A, FL Commercial

As recently as 2016, SpaceX launched only 8 times in an entire year, so over the last two months the pace is more than 6x faster than during 2016. The average gap between launches comes out as 5.3 days.  There were two NASA missions – IXPE and CRS2 Spx-4 – and one U.S. military satellite, NRLO-87. The other launches are all non-U.S. government.  It is better to look at it this way since this emphasizes the degree to which the SpaceX launch cadence is independent of the U.S. government budget.

Every launch was successful, and in every case the first stage returned to Earth for reuse. Only two totally new first stage boosters were used out of the 11 flights shown. Some of the boosters are building up the flight heritage – we see two on their 10th flight, and one on its 11th flight. As has been widely pointed out, the Falcon 9 now eclipses the reliability record of the Atlas V. Additionally, in January the Falcon 9 passed the Space Shuttle flight record as well.

But perhaps the most significant record is that as of 2/3/22, the Falcon 9 has flown 112 times successfully in a row, eclipsing the consecutive success achievements of the previous leaders, the Delta II and Soyuz-U rockets, which were tied with 100 consecutive successful launches.

The great game of launcher reliability is over. The race has been run, and the Falcon 9 emerges victorious. The only likely near-term threat to this remarkable record comes from a possible Chinese rival, or more likely, the next generation SpaceX launch vehicle – Starship/SuperHeavy. We can look forward a few years hence to a daily launch cadence with Starship/SuperHeavy!

The viewpoint of future space historians is hard to envision, but while this new record may mark the end of the beginning of the true space age, but it also heralds far greater things to come.

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Picture of National Space Society

National Space Society

Leave a Comment

Search
Categories
future 1

Don't Miss a Beat!

Be the first to know when new articles are posted!

Follow Us On Social Media

JOIN THE
GREATEST ADVENTURE

Give The Gift Of Space: Membership For Friends and Family

Book Review

Archives

ISDC 2025:
Together Beyond!

In Orlando at the Rosen Centre Hotel.
June 19 - 22, 2025

FEATURED BLOG

Image of Kalpana One space settlement courtesy Bryan Versteeg, spacehabs.com $32,000 in Cash Awards Given for Best Space-Related Business Plans — Deadline March 1, 2024

Category: Nonfiction Reviewed by: John J. Vester Title: Nuclear Rockets: To the Moon and Mars Author: Manfred “Dutch” von Ehrenfried Format: Paperback/Kindle Pages: 270 Publisher:

Partially Successful Flight Reached Space and Demonstrated New “Hot Staging” System The National Space Society congratulates SpaceX on the second test of its Starship/Super Heavy

Ad Astra, the NSS quarterly print, digital, and audio magazine, has won a 2023 MARCOM Gold Award. The awards are given yearly for “Excellence in

By Jennifer Muntz, NSS Member Coordinator On October 10th, an inspiring breakfast event took flight at the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space

By Grant Henriksen NSS Policy Committee Benefit sharing is a concept that refers to the distribution of benefits derived from the exploration and use of

People residing and working in space, space settlements, or on long-duration space flights will need to produce infrastructures and food to maintain healthy lifestyles. The

Image: Artist’s concept of the Blue Moon lander. Credit: Blue Origin. Second Human Landing System Contract Encourages Competition and Innovation The National Space Society congratulates

Your Doorway to New Worlds