See also: List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches (2010–2019).
See main article: List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.
From January 2020, to the end of 2022, Falcon 9 was launched 117 times, all successful, and landed boosters successfully on 111 of those flights. Falcon Heavy was launched once and was successful, including landing of the mission's two side boosters.
In late 2019, Gwynne Shotwell stated that SpaceX hoped for as many as 24 launches for Starlink satellites in 2020,[1] in addition to 14 or 15 non-Starlink launches. At 26 launches, 14 of which were for Starlink satellites, Falcon 9 had its most prolific year, and Falcon rockets were second most prolific rocket family of 2020, only behind China's Long March rocket family.[2]
Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) | Version, booster | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | 7 January 2020 02:19:21[3] | F9 B5 B1049.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 2 (60satellites) | [4] | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 70° to expand internet constellation. One satellite included a test coating to make the satellite less reflective, and thus less likely to interfere with ground-based astronomical observations.[5] | |||||||||
| 79 | 19 January 2020 15:30[6] | F9 B5 B1046.4 | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew Dragon in-flight abort test[7] (Dragon C205.1) | Sub-orbital[8] | NASA (CTS)[9] | |||
| An atmospheric test of the Dragon 2 abort system after Max Q. The capsule fired its SuperDraco engines, reached an apogee of, deployed parachutes, and splashed down in the ocean downrange from the launch site. The test was previously slated to be accomplished with the Crew Dragon Demo-1 capsule;[10] but that test article exploded during a ground test of SuperDraco engines on 20 April 2019.[11] The abort test used the capsule originally intended for the first crewed flight.[12] As expected, the booster was destroyed by aerodynamic forces after the capsule aborted.[13] First flight of a Falcon 9 with only one functional stage — the second stage had a mass simulator in place of its engine. | |||||||||
| 80 | 29 January 2020 14:07[14] | F9 B5 B1051.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 3 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. One of the fairing halves was caught, while the other was fished out of the ocean.[15] | |||||||||
| 81 | 17 February 2020 15:05[16] | F9 B5 B1056.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 4 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. The first stage booster failed to land on the drone ship[17] due to incorrect wind data.[18] This was the first time a flight proven booster failed to land. | |||||||||
| 82 | 7 March 2020 04:50[19] | F9 B5 B1059.2 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | SpaceX CRS-20 (Dragon C112.3) | [20] (excl. Dragon mass) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (LZ1) | |
| Last launch of phase 1 of the CRS contract. Carries Bartolomeo, an ESA platform for hosting external payloads onto ISS.[21] Originally scheduled to launch on 2 March 2020, the launch date was pushed back due to a second stage engine failure. SpaceX decided to swap out the second stage instead of replacing the faulty part.[22] It was SpaceX's third flight of the Dragon C112 and the last launch of the Cargo Dragon spacecraft. | |||||||||
| 83 | 18 March 2020 12:16[23] | F9 B5 B1048.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 5 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. It was the first time a first stage booster flew for a fifth time and the second time the fairings were reused (Starlink flight in May 2019).[24] Towards the end of the first stage burn, the booster suffered premature shut down of an engine, the first of a Merlin 1D variant and first since the CRS-1 mission in October 2012. However, the payload still reached the targeted orbit.[25] This was the second Starlink launch booster landing failure in a row, later revealed to be caused by residual cleaning fluid trapped inside a sensor.[26] | |||||||||
| 84 | 22 April 2020 19:30[27] | F9 B5 B1051.4 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 6 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. The 84th flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, it surpassed Atlas V to become the most-flown operational US rocket.[28] Used fairings launched on AMOS-17 (August 2019).[29] | |||||||||
| 85 | 30 May 2020 19:22[30] | F9 B5 B1058.1[31] | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew Dragon Demo-2 (Crew Dragon C206.1 Endeavour)[32] | [33] | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CCDev) | (OCISLY) | |
| First crewed orbital spaceflight from American soil since Space Shuttle STS-135 in July 2011, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station. The SpaceX live stream was peaked at 4.1 million viewers, while NASA estimated roughly 10 million people watched on various online platforms, and approximately 150,000 people gathered on Florida's space coast despite the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] | |||||||||
| 86 | 4 June 2020 01:25[35] | F9 B5 B1049.5 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 7 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Launch occurred on the 10th anniversary of the first Falcon 9 flight. Included "VisorSat" satellite test that uses a sunshade to limit reflectivity.[36] First booster to successfully land five times, and first to land on Just Read The Instructions since it was moved to the East Coast. | |||||||||
| 87 | 13 June 2020 09:21 | F9 B5 B1059.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 8 (58satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | rowspan=2 (OCISLY) | ||
| SkySat-16, -17, -18 | Planet Labs | ||||||||
| Launch of 58 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Also included the launch of three SkySat satellites as part of the SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Program.[37] [38] [39] One payload fairing half launched on JCSat-18 / Kacific 1 mission in December 2019. The other payload fairing half flew on Starlink 2 v1.0 in January 2020.[40] For the first time, SpaceX did not perform a static fire before launch. | |||||||||
| 88 | 30 June 2020 20:10:46[41] | F9 B5 B1060.1 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | GPS III-03 (Matthew Henson) | [42] | MEO | U.S. Space Force | (JRTI) | |
| Payload manufacturing contract awarded January 2012,[43] fully assembled in August 2017,[44] [45] and completed thermal vacuum testing in June 2018.[46] Launch contract was awarded initially for US$96.5 million,[47] but later, this was discounted in exchange for allowing to launch configuration enabling booster recovery.[48] The vehicle nicknamed Columbus was transported to Florida in February 2020,[49] but launch was delayed by the customer from April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[50] The launch was dedicated to the memory of the recently deceased, late commander of the 21st Space Wing, Colonel Thomas G. Falzarano,[51] [52] and after launch, in October 2020, the nickname was changed to that of the Arctic explorer Matthew Henson.[53] [54] For second time, the second stage featured a gray banded Falcon long coast mission-extension kit, to allow more heat to be absorbed during the longer coasting period,[55] while both fairings were recovered out of the water without attempting a catch in the net. | |||||||||
| 89 | 20 July 2020 21:30[56] | F9 B5 B1058.2[57] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | ANASIS-II | GTO | Republic of Korea Army | (JRTI) | ||
| At 56 tonnes, the satellite formerly known as K-Milsat-1 is South Korea's first dedicated military satellite. Contracted by South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration in 2014.[58] 57th successful recovery of a Falcon 9 first stage. For the first time both fairing halves were also successfully caught by fairing catching ships.[59] This launch featured a booster reflight within 51 days, a new record turnaround time for a Falcon booster.[60] It was the same booster that launched the Crew Dragon Demo-2 spacecraft on 30 May 2020. The satellite was delivered to a super-synchronous transfer orbit of, while both fairing halves were caught in the catch nets of the supports ships.[61] | |||||||||
| 90 | 7 August 2020 05:12[62] | F9 B5 B1051.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 9 (57satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | rowspan=2 (OCISLY) | ||
| SXRS-1 (BlackSky Global 7 and 8) | Spaceflight Industries (BlackSky) | ||||||||
| Launch of 57 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Also included the launch of two BlackSky satellites as part of the SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Program.[63] This first rideshare contracted with Spaceflight Industries was dubbed internally as "SXRS-1".[64] After previously testing on a single Starlink, the launch will have all 57 satellites include a "VisorSat" to reduce their brightness.[65] | |||||||||
| 91 | 18 August 2020 14:31[66] | F9 B5 B1049.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 10 (58satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | rowspan=2 (OCISLY) | ||
| SkySat-19, -20, -21 | Planet Labs | ||||||||
| Launch of 58 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Also included the launch of three SkySat satellites as part of the SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Program. First time a booster made a 6th flight.[67] The fairings previously flew on Starlink 3 v1.0. One fairing half was caught by Go Ms. Tree, the other was scooped out of the ocean. | |||||||||
| 92 | 30 August 2020 23:18[68] | F9 B5 B1059.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | SAOCOM 1B[69] GNOMES 1 Tyvak-0172[70] | [71] | SSO | CONAE PlanetIQ Tyvak | (LZ1) | |
| The 100th launch in SpaceX's history, first time a commercial launch on a fourth launch of a booster, it deployed Earth-observing satellites built by Argentina's space agency CONAE and two rideshares. SpaceX was contracted in 2009 for an initial launch as early as 2013.[72] Originally planned for launch from Vandenberg but launched from Cape Canaveral, which made it the first flight from there using the southern corridor to a polar orbit since 1969.[73] [74] | |||||||||
| 93 | 3 September 2020 12:46:14[75] | F9 B5 B1060.2[76] | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 11 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. | |||||||||
| 94 | 6 October 2020 11:29:34[77] | F9 B5 B1058.3[78] | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 12 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Used a fairing half on its third launch.[79] Also, the B1058 holds the title for the shortest time a booster reached three flights which is 129 days beating B1046 by 77 days. | |||||||||
| 95 | 18 October 2020 12:25:57[80] | F9 B5 B1051.6[81] | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 13 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Second time a booster was flown six times and first time both fairing halves were flown a third time. Both fairing halves landed on their respective ships but one fairing broke the net on Ms Tree.[82] | |||||||||
| 96 | 24 October 2020 15:31:34[83] | F9 B5 B1060.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 14 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. 100th successful launch of a Falcon vehicle.[84] | |||||||||
| 97 | 5 November 2020 23:24:23[85] | F9 B5 B1062.1 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | GPS III-04 (Sacagawea)[86] | MEO | USSF | (OCISLY) | ||
| Manufacturing contract awarded in January 2012, underwent thermal vacuum testing in December 2018,[87] while the launch contract was awarded in March 2018.[88] A launch attempt on 3 October 2020, was aborted two seconds before liftoff due to early start in two engines.[89] [90] Following the abort, two engines from B1062 were sent for further testing.[91] The abort also caused delays to the Crew-1 launch to allow time for data review.[92] [93] | |||||||||
| 98 | 16 November 2020 00:27[94] | F9 B5 B1061.1[95] | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew-1 (Crew Dragon C207.1 Resilience) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CCP) | (JRTI) | |
| First crew rotation of the commercial crew program, following the return in August of the crewed test flight mission Crew Demo 2. Originally designated "USCV-1" by NASA. Carried astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi, for a 6-month stay aboard the ISS, during which the Boeing Starliner OFT flight launched but was unable to dock as expected.[96] The first flight of the crew program was initially expected to launch in 2017,[97] [98] and finished final certifications in November 2020.[99] | |||||||||
| 99 | 21 November 2020 17:17:08[100] | F9 B5 B1063.1 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich (Jason-CS A) | LEO | NASA / NOAA / ESA / EUMETSAT | (LZ4) | ||
| Named after the former director of NASA's Earth science program, it is a radar altimeter satellite part of the Ocean Surface Topography constellation located at and 66° inclination, and a follow-up to Jason 3 as a partnership between the United States (NOAA and NASA), Europe (EUMETSAT, ESA, CNES).[101] | |||||||||
| 100 | 25 November 2020 02:13[102] | F9 B5 B1049.7[103] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 15 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. First time a booster was launched for a seventh time and first time SpaceX completed four launches in a single month. | |||||||||
| 101 | 6 December 2020 16:17:08[104] | F9 B5 B1058.4[105] | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-21 (Dragon C208.1) | (excl. Dragon mass) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (OCISLY) | |
| First launch of phase 2 of the CRS contract of six launches awarded in January 2016.[106] It was the first launch of the upgraded version Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft, with increased payload capacity and autonomous docking to the ISS. Payloads included Nanoracks Bishop Airlock[107] and CFIG-1 (Cool Flames Investigation with Gases).[108] It's also the 100th successful Falcon 9 launch. | |||||||||
| 102 | 13 December 2020 17:30:00[109] | F9 B5 B1051.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40[110] | SXM-7 | GTO | Sirius XM | (JRTI) | ||
| Launched the largest, high-power broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM's digital audio radio service (DARS). SXM-7 was built by Maxar Technologies; intended to operate in the S-band spectrum, it will replace the SXM-3 satellite. The satellite will deliver the highest power density of any commercial satellite on-orbit,[111] generate more than 20 kW of power, and have a large unfoldable antenna reflector, which enables broadcast to radios without the need for large dish-type antennas on the ground. Due to the heavy weight, the payload was injected into a sub-synchronous orbit of and the satellite itself will transfer to full GTO.[112] It was the first time a commercial primary payload flew on a booster which had been flown more than 4 times before.[113] First dedicated customer launch where the fairings were previously used.[114] | |||||||||
| 103 | 19 December 2020 14:00:00[115] | F9 B5 B1059.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | NROL-108 | LEO | NRO | (LZ1) | ||
| The planned launch was not known by the public until FCC filings appeared in late September followed by confirmation from the NRO on 5 October 2020, likely a relatively light payload that allows the return of the booster to the launch site.[116] | |||||||||
In October 2020, Elon Musk indicated he wanted to be able to increase launches to 48 in 2021.[117] Regulatory documents filed in February 2020, specified a maximum of 60 launches per year from Florida for Falcon 9 and another ten for Falcon Heavy, according to its 2020, environmental assessment.[118] 31 launches actually occurred in 2021; all were successful.[119]
Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) | Version, booster | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 104 | 8 January 2021 02:15[120] | F9 B5 B1060.4 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Türksat 5A[121] | GTO | Türksat | (JRTI) | ||
| A satellite intended to be stationed at 31.0° east. This is the most powerful satellite in Türksat's fleet[122] and will provide Ku-band television broadcast services over Turkey, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The satellite was injected in to a Super-synchronous transfer orbit of with 17.6° inclination.[123] | |||||||||
| 105 | 20 January 2021 13:02:22[124] | F9 B5 B1051.8[125] | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 16 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. The first booster to successfully launch and land eight times. Achieved a record turnaround time between two launches of the same booster of only 38 days and brought the total of launched Starlink satellites to over 1,000.[126] SpaceX stated that the landing would occur during higher winds than usual; this test to expand the landing envelope was successfully passed by the booster.[127] | |||||||||
| 106 | 24 January 2021 15:00[128] | F9 B5 B1058.5[129] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Transporter-1 (143 payload smallsat rideshare) | ~ | SSO | Various | (OCISLY) | |
| First dedicated smallsat rideshare launch arranged by SpaceX, targeting a altitude orbit.[130] The launch deployed a record 143 satellites, consisting of 120 CubeSats, 11 microsatellites, 10 Starlinks, and 2 transfer stages. In addition, 2 hosted payloads and 1 non-separating dummy satellite[131] were< | -- you can't use a tweet that says a rocket is vertical on the pad to support a statement that a some number of satellites were launched; need an after the launch summary from a reliable source to support such a statement. But date ref confirms the 143 were launched which is what was planned in advance per tweets so I think that is sufficient to delete the --> launched.[132] These include SpaceBEE (x 36), Lemur-2 (x 8), ICEYE (x 3), UVSQ-SAT,[133] ELaNa 35 (PTD-1), and Kepler nanosats (x 8).[134] [135] D-Orbit ION Satellite Carrier and 10 Starlink satellites made for testing optical laser inter-satellite links placed in a polar orbit[136] and 2 of 15 payloads remained attached to SHERPA-FX1. Exolaunch deployed several small satellites and cubesats via their own deployment mechanisms. First flight of a Falcon 9 with a SHERPA-FX transfer stage called SHERPA-FX1.[137] [138] | ||||||||
| 107 | 4 February 2021 06:19[139] | F9 B5 B1060.5[140] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 18 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. This set a new booster turnaround record, at 27 days, and it was the first time a Falcon 9 flew twice within a month.[141] | |||||||||
| 108 | 16 February 2021 03:59:37[142] | F9 B5 B1059.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 19 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation.[143] A hole in a heat-shielding engine cover, which likely developed through fatigue, allowed recirculating hot exhaust gases to damage one of the Merlin 1D first-stage engines, causing it to shut down early during ascent. Engine-out capability of the Falcon 9 allowed the mission to continue and successfully deploy the 60 Starlink satellites to orbit.[144] The issue caused the booster to fail its landing attempt and miss the droneship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) after its entry burn, breaking the longest streak of 24 landing successes (since surpassed).[145] During this mission, GO Ms. Tree and GO Ms. Chief were used for the last time to recover the fairings;[146] [147] SpaceX retired the fairing catching program in favor of fairing fishing.[148] Both fairing catching ships were retired from SpaceX use. | |||||||||
| 109 | 4 March 2021 08:24:54[149] | F9 B5 B1049.8[150] | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 17 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Launch had previously been postponed multiple times, causing the payload Starlink L17 to launch after the L18 and L19 missions. Featured for the first time, a fairing which was flying on its fourth flight.[151] The second-stage deorbit burn failed, causing an uncontrolled reentry on 26 March 2021, over the west coast of the United States.[152] | |||||||||
| 110 | 11 March 2021 08:13:29[153] | F9 B5 B1058.6[154] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 20 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. | |||||||||
| 111 | 14 March 2021 10:01:26[155] | F9 B5 B1051.9 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 21 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. First time a first-stage booster flew and landed for the ninth time. This flight also marked the fastest turnaround time for a fairing half, at 49 days. Both fairing halves previously flew on the Transporter-1 mission.[156] | |||||||||
| 112 | 24 March 2021 08:28:24[157] | F9 B5 B1060.6[158] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 22 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Fairing "wet recovery" achieved by contracted recovery vessel Shelia Bordelon for the first time. Both fairing halves were retrieved from the water.[159] | |||||||||
| 113 | 7 April 2021 16:34:18 | F9 B5 B1058.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 23 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. This launch featured the second fastest booster turnaround time at 27 days and 8 hours (after Starlink 18 with B1060.5, which was 4 hours faster).[160] | |||||||||
| 114 | 23 April 2021 09:49:02[161] | F9 B5 B1061.2 | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew-2 (Crew Dragon C206.2 Endeavour) | ~[162] | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS) | (OCISLY) | |
| Second operational flight of Crew Dragon for Commercial Crew Program. Transported NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet to the ISS.[163] The four astronauts will spend 6 months aboard the ISS. Beginning with the Crew-2 mission, NASA has modified the contract to allow NASA astronauts to use flight-proven< | -- "previously-flown" may be a clearer term for the global wiki reader, but "flight-proven" was used in the source --> (reused) Dragon capsules and booster.[164] Thus SpaceX reflew the Dragon used on Demo-2 and used Booster B1061-2 which had been used to launch Crew-1 in November 2020. | ||||||||
| 115 | 29 April 2021 03:44:30[165] | F9 B5 B1060.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 24 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation.[166] | |||||||||
| 116 | 4 May 2021 19:01:07[167] | F9 B5 B1049.9[168] | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 25 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. Second time a booster flew for the ninth time. | |||||||||
| 117 | 9 May 2021 06:42:45[169] | F9 B5 B1051.10 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 27 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to expand internet constellation. This was the first time a booster flew 10 times. Brought the total number of operational Starlink satellites in the first shell to approximately 1,516 out of a planned 1,584.[170] | |||||||||
| 118 | 15 May 2021 22:56[171] | F9 B5 B1058.8 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Launch 26 (52satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | rowspan=3 (OCISLY) | ||
| Capella-6 | Capella Space | ||||||||
| Tyvak-0130[172] | Tyvak | ||||||||
| Launch of 52 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit to expand internet constellation. Also included the launch of a Capella Space satellite and a Tyvak satellite as part of the SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Program. Targeted orbit was higher than other Starlink orbits due to the needs of the rideshare payloads. Fairing "wet recovery" done by contracted recovery vessel Shelia Bordelon for the last time. | |||||||||
| 119 | 26 May 2021 18:59:35[173] | F9 B5 B1063.2 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Launch 28 (60satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Final launch of 60 Starlink v1 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53° to complete the first shell of the internet constellation containing 1,584 satellites.[174] It was 40th launch a fairing was reused, with one half being used for the 5th time (first fairing to do so) and the other for a 3rd time.[175] This launch marks SpaceX's 100th successful launch in a row without in-flight failure since December 2015. | |||||||||
| 120 | 3 June 2021 17:29:17[176] | F9 B5 B1067.1 | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-22 (Dragon C209.1) | (excl. Dragon mass) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (OCISLY) | |
| Second of a minimum of six new cargo missions under the CRS-2 contract, which NASA awarded SpaceX in 2015. Mission was flown with an uncrewed Dragon 2 capsule,[177] which carried solar panels, catalytic reactor for the station's life support system, an emergency air supply system, Kurs remote control unit, and a Potable Water Dispense (PWD) filter. Also carried were the RamSat cubesat as payload for ELaNa 36,[178] the SOAR cubesat for the University of Manchester[179] and the first Mauritian satellite MIR-SAT1[180] to be launched from the station later. This was the last mission the Of Course I Still Love You droneship supported on the east coast,[181] since SpaceX began launching Starlink satellites from the West Coast starting in July, which requires a droneship landing. OCISLY was replaced by A Shortfall Of Gravitas droneship later that summer.[182] | |||||||||
| 121 | 6 June 2021 04:26[183] | F9 B5 B1061.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | SXM-8[184] | GTO | Sirius XM | (JRTI) | ||
| A large, high-power broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM's digital audio radio service (DARS) contracted together with SXM-7 to replace the aging XM-4 satellite and allow broadcast to radios without the need for large dish-type antennas on the ground.[185] | |||||||||
| 122 | 17 June 2021 16:09:35[186] | F9 B5 B1062.2[187] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | USA-319 / GPS III-05 (Neil Armstrong)[188] | [189] | MEO | USSF | (JRTI) | |
| Manufacturing contract awarded February 2013.[190] In March 2018, the Air Force announced it had awarded the launch contract for three GPS satellites to SpaceX.[191] This is the first reused booster launch for a 'national security' mission.[192] Fairing "wet recovery" was attempted by contracted recovery vessel Hos Briarwood for the first time. Both fairing halves were retrieved from water.[193] [194] | |||||||||
| 123 | 30 June 2021 19:31[195] | F9 B5 B1060.8 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Transporter-2 (88 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (LZ1) | ||
| A total of 88 payloads including prototype Starlink v1.5 satellites made for testing optical laser inter-satellite links[196] (3x), Polar Vigilance (4x), Exolaunch YAM-2 & 3, Satellogic,[197] Capella-5[198] HawkEye Cluster 3 (multiple sats), Spaceflight Industries (multiple sats including on two space tugs Sherpa-FX2 Sherpa-LTE1). LINCS 1 and 2 were reported to be tumbling uncontrolled due to "an issue with the launch vehicle".[199] | |||||||||
| 124 | 29 August 2021 07:14:49[200] | F9 B5 B1061.4 | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-23 (Dragon C208.2) | ~ (excl. Dragon mass) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (ASOG) | |
| Third of six new cargo missions NASA awarded in 2015 to SpaceX under the CRS-2 contract to be flown after the initial 20 missions of phase 1 were completed in 2020. Includes FBCE, SoFIE. First time a booster landed on SpaceX's fourth droneship, A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG),[201] [202] marking the first use when SpaceX has three droneships in operation. | |||||||||
| 125 | 14 September 2021 03:55:50[203] | F9 B5 B1049.10 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 2-1 (51satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | |
| First launch of 51 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 70° to expand internet constellation. The Starlink v1.5 satellites feature laser inter-satellite links, which are needed for high-latitude and mid-ocean coverage.[204] [205] First launch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, and first West coast launch in 10 months. Droneship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) had recently moved from the Atlantic Ocean, through the Panama Canal, and was used for its first landing in the Pacific Ocean. Second booster to make a tenth flight and landing.[206] | |||||||||
| 126 | 16 September 2021 00:02:56[207] | F9 B5 B1062.3[208] | Kennedy, LC39A | Inspiration4 (Crew Dragon C207.2 Resilience) | ~ | LEO | Jared Isaacman [209] [210] | (JRTI) | |
| SpaceX signed in February 2021, its first all-civilian flight for a crewed spacecraft with Jared Isaacman (Leadership), founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, who commands and pilots the mission, and who donated the three other seats in the Crew Dragon vehicle's launch to LEO. The first of these three seats (Generosity) was won by Christopher Sembroski in a lottery, who donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the second seat (Hope) was awarded to Hayley Arceneaux, an ambassador associated with that hospital, and the third seat (Prosperity) was awarded to Sian Proctor, the winner of a contest between entrepreneurs who use Shift4Shop. The seats were awarded on 30 March 2021.[211] [212] The mission reached a circular orbit of about 585 km and lasted about three days. The docking adapter of Crew Dragon Resilience was replaced by a dome window.[213] [214] [215] | |||||||||
| 127 | 11 November 2021 02:03:31[216] | F9 B5 B1067.2[217] | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew-3 (Crew Dragon C210.1 Endurance) | ~[218] | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS) | (ASOG) | |
| SpaceX's third operational Crew Dragon flight carried NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Raja Chari as well as German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer.[219] It also carried up to of cargo to the ISS. | |||||||||
| 128 | 13 November 2021 12:19[220] | F9 B5 B1058.9[221] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-1 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | |
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. Fairing "wet recovery" was attempted by SpaceX multipurpose ship, Bob for the first time, and both fairing halves were retrieved from water.[222] | |||||||||
| 129 | 24 November 2021 06:21[223] | F9 B5 B1063.3[224] | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)[225] | Heliocentric | NASA (LSP) | (OCISLY) | ||
| Dart mission will measure the kinetic effects of crashing an impactor into the surface of the moon of 65803 Didymos asteroid. It is the first mission aiming to demonstrate asteroid redirect capability[226] and the first NASA scientific mission using a previously flown booster.[227] The launch contract was awarded to SpaceX for $69 million.[228] | |||||||||
| 130 | 2 December 2021 23:12[229] | F9 B5 B1060.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-3 (48satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | rowspan=2 (ASOG) | |
| SXRS-2 (BlackSky Global 12 and 13) | Spaceflight, Inc. | ||||||||
| Launch of 48 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation.[230] Also included the launch of two BlackSky satellites as part of the SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Program.[231] as rideshare payloads. The BlackSky satellites were released prior to the Starlink deployment, to a orbit.[232] | |||||||||
| 131 | 9 December 2021 06:00[233] | F9 B5 B1061.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)[234] | LEO | NASA (LSP) | (JRTI) | ||
| SMEX 14 mission with three identical NASA telescopes on a single spacecraft, designed to measure X-rays. The launch contract was awarded to SpaceX for US$50.3 million, and is the smallest dedicated payload ever launched by Falcon 9 launch vehicle.[235] However, the required exact equatorial orbit required an orbital plane change that meant an approximately 30% of Falcon 9's maximum theoretical performance for such an orbital profile (1.5-2 tons).[236] | |||||||||
| 132 | 18 December 2021 12:41[237] | F9 B5 B1051.11 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 4-4 (52satellites) | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 52 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. First time a Falcon 9 first stage booster flew for an eleventh time. | |||||||||
| 133 | 19 December 2021 03:58[238] | F9 B5 B1067.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Türksat 5B[239] | GTO | Türksat | (ASOG) | ||
| The first GTO satellite partially built in Turkey, the satellite is intended to be placed at 42.0° east.[240] By launching at the opening of the Turksat-5B window, SpaceX set a new record for the shortest time between two Falcon 9 launches at 15 hours and 17 minutes. The previous record time was 44 hours and 17 minutes, set between the Starlink Group 2-1 and Inspiration4 missions.[241] | |||||||||
| 134 | 21 December 2021 10:06[242] | F9 B5 B1069.1 | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-24 (Dragon C209.2) | (excl. Dragon mass) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (JRTI) | |
| Fourth of six new cargo missions NASA awarded in 2015 to SpaceX under the CRS-2 contract to be flown after the initial 20 missions of phase 1 were completed in 2020. First time SpaceX launched 5 rockets within the same calendar month. The ELaNa 38 mission, consisting of 4 cubesats, launched on this flight.[243] SpaceX achieved the feat of 100 successful orbital rocket booster landings in this mission, coinciding with the 6th anniversary of its first booster landing. After landing, de-tanking and heading back home, the stage and Octagrabber were damaged in heavy seas.[244] | |||||||||
There were 61 Falcon launches in 2022: one Falcon Heavy and 60 Falcon 9. Older environmental regulatory documents had showed that, in addition to launches from Vandenberg, SpaceX mentioned planning for up to 70 launches each year from its two Florida launch sites when it filed an environmental assessment in February 2020.[245] In January 2022, information became public that SpaceX had intended to increase the pace of launches to 52 during 2022, after launching a record 31 times in 2021.[246] In March 2022, Elon Musk stated that SpaceX was aiming for 60 Falcon launches in 2022.[247] In the event, SpaceX did increase their launch cadence, exceeding the previous yearly record of 31 launches in just the first 29 weeks of 2022. 13 of the Falcon 9 launches were from Vandenberg. SpaceX launched over 633 tonnes this year or 1.15 times the mass of a Falcon 9 rocket just before takeoff (exclusive of undisclosed payload masses).[248]
Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) | Version, booster | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 135 | 6 January 2022 21:49[249] | F9 B5 B1062.4 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-5 (49satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 49 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation.[250] After the weather-related damage to the landed booster in the previous launch, SpaceX changed the Starlink launch trajectory from Northeast to Southeast intending to increase odds of good booster and fairing recovery conditions in the winter months, on a course just North of the Bahamas via a plane change maneuver to line up with the proper orbital plane for the Starlink satellites.[251] | ||||||||||
| 136 | 13 January 2022 15:25:38[252] | F9 B5 B1058.10 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Transporter-3 (105 payload smallsat rideshare)[253] | SSO | Various | (LZ1) | |||
| Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to Sun-synchronous orbit. A total of 105 payloads including: Planet Labs SuperDoves (×44),[254] and some of the customer payloads on SpaceFlight's SXRS-6 mission.[255] In addition, four secret satellites, likely test or operational satellites built by SpaceX based on the Starshield bus (based on Starlink Block v1.5 or v2.0 technology),[256] were also deployed for the US army. Their purpose has not been revealed, but is likely either technical demonstration, communications, earth observation or signals intelligence.[257] In 2020, SpaceX had won a US$149 million contract for developing and launching missile tracking satellites based on the Starlink architecture.[258] | ||||||||||
| 137 | 19 January 2022 02:02:40[259] | F9 B5 B1060.10 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-6 (49satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 49 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. Second Starlink launch where SpaceX has significantly customized a Starlink launch trajectory to optimize for booster recovery after Starlink Group 4–5.[260] | ||||||||||
| 138 | 31 January 2022 23:11[261] | F9 B5 B1052.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | CSG-2 | SSO | ASI | (LZ1) | |||
| Second COSMO-SkyMed 2nd-generation satellite. Originally scheduled to launch in 2021, on an Arianespace Vega-C launch vehicle, resulting delays caused by the pandemic and two Vega launch failures led to ASI purchasing a Falcon 9 launch contract in September 2021, for the 2.2-ton satellite. First launch of a converted Falcon 9 that was previously used as a FH side booster.[262] [263] | ||||||||||
| 139 | 2 February 2022 20:27[264] | F9 B5 B1071.1 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | NROL-87 | SSO | NRO | (LZ4) | |||
| Classified payload. The contract requirements for this launch called for a sun-synchronous orbit at 97.4° inclination.[265] The National Reconnaissance Office called the launch a success.[266] | ||||||||||
| 140 | 3 February 2022 18:13[267] | F9 B5 B1061.6 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-7 (49satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 49 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. A fairing half on this mission was flown and recovered for a record 6th time. A G2-rated geomagnetic storm on 4 February significantly increased the atmospheric density at the initial deployment orbit, resulting in 38 satellites reentering over the following eight days.[268] [269] | ||||||||||
| 141 | 21 February 2022 14:44[270] | F9 B5 B1058.11 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-8 (46satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 46 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. This was the first Group 4 mission to feature two upper stage burns like v1 Starlink launches, with deployment of the satellites approximately one hour after lift-off into a higher circular orbit. This is aimed at reducing the risk of high drag that caused 38 of the Group 4-7 satellites to fail reaching their intended orbits, and instead, reenter shortly after launch.[271] | ||||||||||
| 142 | 25 February 2022 17:12[272] | F9 B5 B1063.4 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 4-11 (50satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 50 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation.[273] | ||||||||||
| 143 | 3 March 2022 14:25[274] | F9 B5 B1060.11 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-9 (47satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 47 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. First time one of SpaceX multipurpose ships, Bob, retrieved both fairing halves and towed the droneship and the Falcon booster on its return journey to Port Canaveral. | ||||||||||
| 144 | 9 March 2022 13:45[275] | F9 B5 B1052.4[276] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-10 (48satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 48 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. This was the 40th Starlink launch. Starlink 3680 (or Starlink 2022-025P) launched in this stack maneuvered to join Shell 1 of Starlink satellites.[277] | ||||||||||
| 145 | 19 March 2022 04:42[278] | F9 B5 B1051.12 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-12 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation.[279] First time a Falcon 9 first-stage booster flew and landed for the twelfth time. This was, at the time, the heaviest Falcon 9 payload to LEO enabled by optimizations to the launch setup and flight profile.[280] [281] | ||||||||||
| 146 | 1 April 2022 16:24[282] | F9 B5 B1061.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Transporter-4 (40 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (JRTI) | |||
| Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to Sun-synchronous orbit. The heaviest payload aboard was Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) German satellite. Other payloads included D-Orbit ION, Hawk-6A/6B/6C, CNCE (2), Heron Mk II, GNOMES-3, Kilimanjaro-1.[283] [284] | ||||||||||
| 147 | 8 April 2022 15:17:11[285] [286] | F9 B5 B1062.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Axiom-1 (Crew Dragon C206.3 Endeavour) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | Axiom Space | (ASOG) | ||
| Announced in March 2020, the flight is the first fully private flight to the ISS. Crew Dragon is commanded by Axiom professional astronaut Michael López-Alegría.[287] Larry Connor is the pilot, and Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe are mission specialists.< | --Per press release date ref--> | |||||||||
| 148 | 17 April 2022 13:13:12[288] | F9 B5 B1071.2 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | NROL-85 (Intruder 13A [NOSS-3 9A] and Intruder 13B [(NOSS-3 9B])[289] | LEO | NRO | (LZ4) | |||
| Classified mission awarded to SpaceX in February 2019.[290] The contract requirements for this launch called for a 1220 km × 1024 km orbit at 63.5° inclination, which corresponds to a Naval Reconnaissance (Intruder) mission.[291] With only a year before the launch, the launch site was switched from Florida to California at no extra cost in exchange for reusing a previously flown booster.[292] The National Reconnaissance Office declared the launch a success.[293] | ||||||||||
| 149 | 21 April 2022 17:51[294] | F9 B5 B1060.12 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-14 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 150 | 27 April 2022 07:52[295] | F9 B5 B1067.4[296] | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew-4 (Crew Dragon C212.1 Freedom)[297] | ~ | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS)[298] | (ASOG) | ||
| Fourth Crew Dragon CCP mission. Carried four astronauts and of cargo to the ISS and function as a lifeboat to evacuate astronauts from ISS in case of an emergency. NASA's Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins as well as ESA's Samantha Cristoforetti assigned to fly this mission.[299] | ||||||||||
| 151 | 29 April 2022 21:27[300] | F9 B5 B1062.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-16 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. This mission set four SpaceX records: fastest booster turnaround (21 days, previously 27 days), pad turnaround (8 days), droneship turnaround (departed 19 hours after arriving), and it was the first time there were six launches in a single calendar month. | ||||||||||
| 152 | 6 May 2022 09:46[301] | F9 B5 B1058.12 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-17 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 153 | 13 May 2022 22:07[302] | F9 B5 B1063.5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 4-13 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation.[303] | ||||||||||
| 154 | 14 May 2022 20:40[304] | F9 B5 B1073.1 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-15 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. First Starlink launch on a new first-stage booster. | ||||||||||
| 155 | 18 May 2022 10:59[305] | F9 B5 B1052.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-18 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 156 | 25 May 2022 18:35[306] | F9 B5 B1061.8[307] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Transporter-5 (59 payload smallsat rideshare) | SSO | Various | (LZ1) | |||
| Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission launching 59 satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit. Mission included 3 different payload dispensers by Momentus (Vigoride space tug), Spaceflight, and D-Orbit, and payloads from 11 countries by Exolaunch.[308] | ||||||||||
| 157 | 8 June 2022 21:03 | F9 B5 B1062.7[309] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Nilesat-301 | ~ | GTO | Nilesat | (JRTI) | ||
| Built by Thales Alenia Space, the Egyptian satellite will be stationed at 7.0° west.[310] SpaceX successfully executed the furthest downrange landing of a Falcon 9 booster on this mission by landing away from the launch site.[311] | ||||||||||
| 158 | 17 June 2022 16:09[312] | F9 B5 B1060.13 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-19 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. This mission marked SpaceX's 100th reuse of a booster, 50th consecutive landing, first booster to fly for a 13th time, and 50th SpaceX launch from LC-39A.[313] | ||||||||||
| 159 | 18 June 2022 14:19[314] | F9 B5 B1071.3 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | SARah 1 | ~ | SSO | German Intelligence Service | (LZ4) | ||
| Airbus-built phased-array-antenna satellite intended to upgrade the German SAR-Lupe surveillance satellites.[315] [316] [317] [318] | ||||||||||
| 160 | 19 June 2022 04:27[319] | F9 B5 B1061.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Globalstar-2 M087 (FM15)[320] USA 328-331 | ~ (excluding secret payloads) | LEO | Globalstar Unknown US government agency | (JRTI) | ||
| Mission launched the first Globalstar satellite since 2013, a spare satellite that was still waiting on ground for its launch. The mission was not known by the public until early June, when a FCC filing appeared.[321] The low mass of the satellite, together with the lack of return to the launch site and the use of an unconventional payload dispenser, led to speculations about there being a second, undisclosed governmental payload.[322] After launch, four USA designated satellites were cataloged, confirming the presence of four secret US Government payloads that were released between second-stage cutoff 1 and second-stage startup 2.[323] [324] Likely the satellites were test or operational satellites built by SpaceX based on the Starshield bus (based on Starlink Block v1.5 or v2.0 technology), based on the deployment structure seen in the launch video. Their purpose has not been revealed, but is likely either technical demonstration, communications, earth observation or signals intelligence. SpaceX set a new record for the shortest time between two Falcon 9 launches at 14 hours and 8 minutes. The previous record time was 15 hours and 17 minutes, set between the Starlink Group 4-4 and Türksat 5B missions. | ||||||||||
| 161 | 29 June 2022 21:04[325] | F9 B5 B1073.2 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | SES-22 | ~ | GTO | SES | (ASOG) | ||
| Following the award for the launch of SES-18 and SES-19, SpaceX was awarded another launch contract for SES-22. Built by Thales Alenia Space, the C-band-only satellite will be stationed at 135° west and is expected to start operations by early August 2022.[326] | ||||||||||
| 162 | 7 July 2022 13:11[327] | F9 B5 B1058.13[328] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-21 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 163 | 11 July 2022 01:39[329] | F9 B5 B1063.6 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 3-1 (46satellites) | ~ | SSO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 46 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 97.6° to expand internet constellation.[330] [331] | ||||||||||
| 164 | 15 July 2022 00:44:22[332] | F9 B5 B1067.5 | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-25 (Dragon C208.3)[333] | (excl. Dragon mass) | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (ASOG) | ||
| Fifth of the six ISS cargo missions awarded in 2015 under the CRS-2 contract, and carried Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) external payload.[334] | ||||||||||
| 165 | 17 July 2022 14:20[335] [336] | F9 B5 B1051.13 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-22 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. It was the first time SpaceX launched an 8th rocket within 30 days.[337] | ||||||||||
| 166 | 22 July 2022 17:39[338] | F9 B5 B1071.4 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 3-2) (46 satellites) | ~ | SSO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 46 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 97.6° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 167 | 24 July 2022 13:38[339] | F9 B5 B1062.8 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-25 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 168 | 4 August 2022 23:08[340] | F9 B5 B1052.6 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Danuri (Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter) | ~[341] | BLT | KARI | rowspan=2 (JRTI) | ||
| "Photo in Space" | Heliocentric | Tesla | ||||||||
| South Korea's first lunar mission.[342] Mission was placed into a ballistic lunar transfer (BLT) orbit. Second stage included a hosted promotional "Launch Your Photo into Deep Space Orbit" mosaic payload by automotive manufacturer Tesla, which in 2018 offered a referral bonus to customers where they could send an image of their choice to be laser-etched into a mosaic plaque and launched to deep space.[343] [344] | ||||||||||
| 169 | 10 August 2022 02:14[345] | F9 B5 B1073.3[346] | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-26 (52satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 52 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 170 | 12 August 2022 21:40:20[347] [348] | F9 B5 B1061.10 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 3-3 (46satellites) | ~ | SSO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 46 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 97.6° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 171 | 19 August 2022 19:21:20[349] | F9 B5 B1062.9 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-27 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 172 | 28 August 2022 03:41[350] | F9 B5 B1069.2[351] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-23 (54satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 54 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. Heaviest Falcon 9 payload to date.[352] This flight, Group 4-23, was moved from 39A to 40 to deconflict with Artemis I operations at 39B. Booster B1069 was repaired after suffering damage to all 9 engines upon its initial landing.[353] | ||||||||||
| 173 | 31 August 2022 05:40[354] | F9 B5 B1063.7 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 3-4 (46satellites) | ~ | SSO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 46 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 97.6° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| 174 | 5 September 2022 02:09[355] | F9 B5 B1052.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-20 (51satellites) Sherpa-LTC2 | ~[356] [357] | LEO | SpaceX Spaceflight Industries | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 51 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. Sherpa-LTC2 space tug's sole hosted payload was Boeing's Varuna Technology Demonstration Mission, a pathfinder for a planned constellation of broadband satellites. Initial orbit of Sherpa LTC-2 is same as that of Starlink but later it will fire its thrusters to reach a 54° inclination low Earth orbit located at altitude. | ||||||||||
| 175 | 11 September 2022 01:20[358] | F9 B5 B1058.14 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-2 (34satellites)[359] (34 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX AST SpaceMobile | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 34 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. Bluewalker-3 is a rideshare mission launched to at an inclination of 53°.[360] [361] This required one of the most complex second stage operations to date, executed two burns to deploy the Bluewalker 3, followed by executing two more burns to deploy the Starlinks, and concluding with a deorbit burn.[362] On this mission, B1058 became the first booster to be launched and recovered fourteen times. | ||||||||||
| 176 | 19 September 2022 00:18[363] | F9 B5 B1067.6[364] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-34 (54satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 54 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation.[365] | ||||||||||
| 177 | 24 September 2022 23:32[366] | F9 B5 B1073.4[367] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-35 (52satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 52 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation.[368] | ||||||||||
| 178 | 5 October 2022 16:00[369] | F9 B5 B1077.1 | Kennedy, LC39A | Crew-5 (Crew Dragon C210.2 Endurance) | ~ | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CTS) | (JRTI) | ||
| Fifth USCV launches out of NASA award of six Crew Dragon mission, to carry four astronauts and of cargo to the ISS as well as feature a lifeboat function to evacuate astronauts from ISS in case of an emergency. NASA Astronauts Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, JAXA Astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Anna Kikina will fly on this mission.[370] This will be the first Russian Cosmonaut to fly on a US Commercial Crew Vehicle as part of a NASA-Roscosmos seat barter agreement.[371] | ||||||||||
| 179 | 5 October 2022 23:10[372] | F9 B5 B1071.5 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 4-29 (52satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 52 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. SpaceX set a new record for the shortest time between two Falcon 9 launches at 7 hours and 10 minutes. The previous record time was 14 hours and 8 minutes, set between the SARah 1 and Globalstar-2 M087 (FM15) with USA 328-331 missions. | ||||||||||
| 180 | 8 October 2022 23:05[373] | F9 B5 B1060.14 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | GTO | Intelsat | (ASOG) | ||||
| Northrop Grumman-built satellites for C-band clearing. At total mass, this launch was one of the heaviest GTO SpaceX launches to date. This necessitated that the satellite be launched into a lower-energy orbit than a usual GTO, with its initial apogee at roughly .[374] [375] [376] [377] | ||||||||||
| 181 | 15 October 2022 05:22[378] | F9 B5 B1069.3 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Hotbird 13F | ~ | GTO | Eutelsat | rowspan=2 (JRTI) | ||
| Adidas Al Rihla balls | ~ | Suborbital (max) | FIFA, Qatar Airways and SpaceX | |||||||
| Built by Airbus, the satellite will maneuver to a 13° east orbit.[379] The satellite reached a supersynchronous geostationary transfer orbit of inclined at 27.1°. First stage B1069.3 included a hosted promotional payload by FIFA, that was a box powered by Starlink containing 2 Adidas Al Rihla (the Journey) balls, that were to be used in 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar for opening its Starlink office in Doha, Qatar.[380] These match balls were launched and brought back by landing on the droneship, surviving the stresses of the booster. Later, they were taken out and shipped back to Qatar for the World Cup.[381] | ||||||||||
| 182 | 20 October 2022 14:50[382] | F9 B5 B1062.10[383] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 4-36 (54satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 54 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. The 48th Falcon 9 launch of the year beat the record launches in a year for a vehicle type held by Soyuz-U in 1979.[384] [385] | ||||||||||
| 183 | 28 October 2022 01:14:10[386] | F9 B5 B1063.8 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Starlink Group 4-31 (53satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (OCISLY) | ||
| Launch of 53 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. | ||||||||||
| FH 4 | 1 November 2022 13:41[387] | Falcon Heavy B5 B1066(core) | Kennedy, LC39A | USSF-44 (Shepherd Demonstration & LDPE-2)[388] | ~ | GEO | USSF, Millennium Space Systems and Lockheed Martin Space | |||
| B1064.1(side) | (LZ1) | |||||||||
| B1065.1(side) | (LZ2) | |||||||||
| Classified payload totaling using new side boosters and center core. The core lacked any fins and landing gear, as it was deliberately expended, underwent the most energetic reentry, and impacted at downrange, 8.3% further than STP-2 mission,[389] while the two side boosters were recovered, marking the 150th and 151st successful landing respectively, and 21st landing at LZ-1 and 4th at LZ-2. It was the 50th launch of a Falcon-family rocket this year. The launch carried Shepherd Demonstration for the Space Force, intended to "test new technologies to enhance safe and responsible rendezvous and proximity operations",[390] as well as the LDPE-2 space tug (with hosted payloads), Tetra-1,[391] Alpine, LINUSS A1 and A2. Third flight featuring a Falcon long coast mission-extension kit, which equipped the second stage with a dark-painted band (for thermal control), extra COPVs for pressurization control, and additional TEA-TEB ignition fluid. The upgrades afforded the second stage with the endurance needed to inject the payloads directly into geosynchronous orbit six hours after launch.[392] | ||||||||||
| 184 | 3 November 2022 05:22[393] | F9 B5 B1067.7 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Hotbird 13G | ~ | GTO | Eutelsat | (JRTI) | ||
| Built by Airbus, the satellite will maneuver to a 13° east orbit. 50th Falcon 9 launch in 2022. The satellite reached a supersynchronous geostationary transfer orbit of inclined at 27.7°. | ||||||||||
| 185 | 12 November 2022 16:06[394] | F9 B5 B1051.14 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 (2 satellites) | ~ | GTO | Intelsat | |||
| Maxar Technologies built satellites for C-band clearing.[395] [396] Intelsat says that it paid SpaceX an additional fee to devote all of the Falcon 9 rocket's propellant to deliver the satellites into a higher orbit than the normal sub-synchronous orbit, given the payload's high total mass of . The Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1051, flying on its 14th flight, was expended, the first deliberately expended Falcon 9 booster since B1046 in January 2020.[397] The satellites reached the supersynchronous geostationary transfer orbit of 283 km × 58,433 km inclined at 24.2°. | ||||||||||
| 186 | 23 November 2022 02:57[398] | F9 B5 B1049.11[399] | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Eutelsat 10B | [400] | GTO | Eutelsat | |||
| Built by Thales Alenia Space, the satellite was launched into a geostationary transfer orbit targeting the 10° east GSO slot. The Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1049 flew its 11th mission and was expended into the Atlantic Ocean following the launch for the same reason as the previous Galaxy 31 and 32 mission's booster B1051. The satellite reached the supersynchronous geostationary transfer orbit of 261 km × 59,831 km inclined at 22.8°. B1049 flew with a Test/Spare Block 4 interstage on this flight since it donated its interstage to B1052 after its penultimate flight.[401] [402] | ||||||||||
| 187 | 26 November 2022 19:20[403] | F9 B5 B1076.1 | Kennedy, LC39A | SpaceX CRS-26 (Dragon C211.1)[404] | [405] | LEO (ISS) | NASA (CRS) | (JRTI) | ||
| Last of the six additional cargo missions NASA awarded in 2015 to SpaceX under the CRS-2 contract flown after the initial 20 missions of phase 1 were completed in 2020. | ||||||||||
| 188 | 8 December 2022 22:27[406] | F9 B5 B1069.4 | Kennedy, LC39A | OneWeb Flight #15 / SpaceX Flight 1 (40 satellites) | Polar LEO | OneWeb | (LZ1) | |||
| Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, OneWeb suspended launches on Soyuz rockets.[407] In March 2022, OneWeb announced that they had signed an agreement with SpaceX to resume satellite launches.[408] This was the first commercial (non-Starlink, non-NASA, non-government, non-crewed) satellite launch from LC-39A since Arabsat-6A in 2019, and the first on Falcon 9 since Es'hail 2 in 2018. | ||||||||||
| 189 | 11 December 2022 07:38[409] | F9 B5 B1073.5 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Hakuto-R Mission 1[410] Emirates Lunar Mission Lunar Flashlight[411] | ~[412] [413] | Ballistic lunar transfer (BLT) | ispace MBRSC JAXA NASA | (LZ2) | ||
| ispace's Hakuto-R (for Reboot) lunar lander is derived from the Hakuto project that was one of the defunct Google Lunar X Prize contestants. Hakuto-R carries the Rashid rover, built by MBRSC and JAXA built Transformable Lunar Robot. A separate 2023, Hakuto-R mission will include a Japanese rover.[414] [415] The Canadian Space Agency has sponsored three private payloads with ispace: Mission Control Space Services will have a computer fly on the Rashid rover to test artificial intelligence algorithms, Canadensys Aerospace Corporation is arranging a 360-degree camera to fly, and NGC Aerospace Ltd will take pictures from orbit to compare them to maps in order to test a navigation system.[416] Lunar Flashlight is a JPL-developed CubeSat that will scan for water ice deposits on the Moon; it was remanifested as a secondary payload after missing its integration window on the Artemis 1 launch. First Falcon 9 booster landing on LZ-2. | ||||||||||
| 190 | 16 December 2022 11:46[417] | F9 B5 B1071.6 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)[418] | ~[419] | LEO | NASA/CNES | (LZ4) | ||
| American–European satellite intended to measure the surface altitude of water bodies with centimeter-level precision.[420] | ||||||||||
| 191 | 16 December 2022 22:48[421] | F9 B5 B1067.8 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | O3b mPOWER 1 & 2 | ~ | MEO | SES | (ASOG) | ||
| In September 2019, SES signed a contract to launch the first part of their seven MEO satellites for its O3b low-latency, high-performance connectivity services.[422] [423] | ||||||||||
| 192 | 17 December 2022 21:32 | F9 B5 B1058.15 | Kennedy, LC39A | Starlink Group 4-37 (54satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (JRTI) | ||
| Launch of 54 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 53.2° to expand internet constellation. B1058 became the first booster to be launched and recovered fifteen times, exceeding its prior record. | ||||||||||
| 193 | 28 December 2022 09:34[424] | F9 B5 B1062.11 | Cape Canaveral, SLC40 | Starlink Group 5-1) 5-1 (54 satellites) | ~ | LEO | SpaceX | (ASOG) | ||
| Launch of 54 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a orbit at an inclination of 43° to expand internet constellation.[425] | ||||||||||
| 194 | 30 December 2022 07:38[426] | F9 B5 B1061.11 | Vandenberg, SLC4E | EROS-C3[427] | ~ | Retrograde LEO | ImageSat International | (LZ4) | ||
| Israeli electro-optical Earth observation satellite based on the OPTSAT-3000 satellite. This was the first SpaceX launch to a low-inclination retrograde orbit, previous retrograde orbits having been polar or Sun-synchronous. It targeting an ~140° inclination orbit. This launch marked the first time SpaceX completed 7 launches in a calendar month and the final rocket launch of 2022. SpaceX's Falcon family thus equaled the yearly world record for most successful launches by any rocket family, first set by the R-7 family in 1980 after this launch.< | -- for falcon family it will be (60 F9 +1 FH)--> B1061 became the only booster to land on all of SpaceX's different landing zones and drone ships except the rarely used LZ-2. | |||||||||
See main article: Crew Dragon Demo-2. SpaceX held a successful launch of the first commercial orbital human space flight on 30 May 2020, crewed with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. Both astronauts focused on conducting tests on the Crew Dragon capsule. Crew Dragon successfully returned to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico on 2 August 2020.[428]
See main article: SpaceX reusable launch system development program and List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters.
SpaceX has developed a program to reuse the first-stage booster, setting multiple booster reflight records: