Elon Musk’s rocket manufacturing company SpaceX on Tuesday launched its Falcon 9 rocket with 27 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from California and subsequently landed a Falcon 9 rocket booster for the 400th time.
What Happened: Following separation from the rocket’s second stage, the booster that supported the Starlink mission landed back on Earth, enabling the company to reuse it for another mission.
The booster that supported the mission on Tuesday previously launched Oneweb 4, USSF-62, and other Starlink missions. The maximum number of missions to be flown by one Falcon 9 booster to date is 25.
Why It Matters: SpaceX is attempting to make its rockets reusable to bring down the cost of spaceflight as the cost of the first stage constitutes the majority of the cost of a new rocket.
In July 2023, Musk warned that rocket manufacturers will need to go all-in on reusability or risk being uncompetitive.
“Rockets are no different from other transport technologies, just harder to make reusable. No one would buy a single-use airplane, car, or even bicycle! You’d need to tow another car just for the return trip,” Musk said.
While the Falcon 9 is only partially reusable, SpaceX is attempting to make its Starship launch vehicle wholly reusable, landing back not just the booster but also the spacecraft. However, the Starship is currently only in the testing and development phase.
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