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The [[reusable launch system]] technology was initially developed for the first stage of [[Falcon 9]].<ref name=sn20141024/> After [[Separation event|stage separation]], the booster flips around (an optional '''boostback burn'''<!-- bolded per [[WP:MOSBOLD]] as a redirect link --> reverses its course), a reentry burn sheds gravity-induced speed to prevent stage overheating as the spacecraft [[atmospheric reentry|reenters the thicker part of the atmosphere]], and a landing burn accomplishes the final low-altitude deceleration and touchdown.
 
SpaceX planned from at least 2014 to develop reusable second stages, a more challenging engineering problem because the vehicle is travelling at [[Orbital speed#Tangential velocities at altitude|orbital velocity]].<ref name=nsf20160927/><ref name=sn20141024/><ref name=nsf20140307/> Second stage reuse is considered vital to Elon Musk's plans for [[Colonization of Mars|settlement of Mars]]. Initial concepts for a reusable Falcon 9 second stage were abandoned by 2018.<ref name="nosecondstagereuse">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-17/musk-spacex-not-planning-to-reuse-falcon-9-aims-to-speed-bfr|title=SpaceX Not Planning to Upgrade Falcon 9 Second Stage|date=November 17, 2018|access-date=August 23, 2019|archive-date=August 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823065211/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-17/musk-spacex-not-planning-to-reuse-falcon-9-aims-to-speed-bfr|url-status=live}}</ref>
Second stage reuse is considered vital to Elon Musk's plans for [[Colonization of Mars|settlement of Mars]]. Initial concepts for a reusable Falcon 9 second stage were abandoned by 2018.<ref name="nosecondstagereuse">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-17/musk-spacex-not-planning-to-reuse-falcon-9-aims-to-speed-bfr|title=SpaceX Not Planning to Upgrade Falcon 9 Second Stage|date=November 17, 2018|access-date=August 23, 2019|archive-date=August 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823065211/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-17/musk-spacex-not-planning-to-reuse-falcon-9-aims-to-speed-bfr|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
{{As of|2023}}, SpaceX is developing the [[SpaceX Starship|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.<ref name="musk201803journal">{{cite journal|last1=Musk|first1=Elon|date=1 March 2018|title=Making Life Multi-Planetary|journal=New Space|volume=6|issue=1|pages=2–11|bibcode=2018NewSp...6....2M|doi=10.1089/space.2018.29013.emu}}</ref>
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== History ==
[[File:SpaceX rockets.svg|thumb|400pxupright=2|right|From left to right, [[Falcon 1]], [[Falcon 9 v1.0]], three versions of [[Falcon 9 v1.1]], three versions of [[Falcon 9 Full Thrust|Falcon 9 v1.2 (Full Thrust)]], three versions of [[Falcon 9 Block 5]], [[Falcon Heavy]], three versions of [[Falcon Heavy Block 5]] and [[SpaceX Starship|Starship]]. The SpaceX reusable rocket technology is being developed for Falcon 9 v1.2, Falcon Heavy and Starship.]]
 
SpaceX attempted to land the first stage of the [[Falcon 1#Reusability|Falcon 1 by parachute]], but the stage did not survive atmosphere re-entry. They continued to experiment unsuccessfully with parachutes on the earliest [[Falcon 9]] flights after 2010. SpaceX subsequently switched to developing a [[Retropropulsion|powered descent]] [[VTVL|landing]] system.<ref name=nsf20170330>{{cite news |last=Graham |first=William |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/spacex-historic-falcon-9-re-flight-ses-10/ |title=SpaceX conducts historic Falcon 9 re-flight with SES-10 – Lands booster again |work=[[NASASpaceFlight.com]] |date=2017-03-30 |access-date=2017-05-27 |quote='The earliest Falcon 9 launches carried parachutes which were to have been used to recover the first stage. However, this was abandoned due to the stage disintegrating during reentry, before the parachutes could be deployed. Instead, SpaceX began to investigate using the stage’s engines to make a powered descent and landing. Alongside this, an improved Falcon 9 vehicle, the Falcon 9 v1.1, was developed.' |archive-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517125334/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/spacex-historic-falcon-9-re-flight-ses-10/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
A description of the reusable launch system was outlined in September 2011. SpaceX said it would attempt to develop powered descent and recovery of both Falcon 9 stages{{mdash}}a fully vertical takeoff, vertical landing ([[VTVL]]) rocket. The company produced an animated video of the first stage returning tail-first for a powered descent and the second stage with a heat shield, reentering head first before rotating for a powered descent.<ref name="wp20110929">{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkvLQdzZRFo |title=SpaceX Chief Details Reusable Rocket |agency=Associated Press |work=Washington Post |date=September 29, 2011 |language=en-us |access-date=April 9, 2016 |via=Associated Press |work=Washington Post}}</ref><ref name="sdc20110930">{{cite news |url=http://www.space.com/13140-spacex-private-reusable-rocket-elon-musk.html |title=SpaceX Unveils Plan for World's First Fully Reusable Rocket |newspaper=Space.com |last=Wall |first=Mike |date=September 30, 2011 |access-date=October 11, 2011 |archive-date=October 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010191516/http://www.space.com/13140-spacex-private-reusable-rocket-elon-musk.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SpaceX Video from SpaceX. com">{{cite web |url=http://www.spacex.com/assets/video/spacex-rtls-green.mp4 |title=Falcon 9 Return to Launch Site |format=video |work=SpaceX.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011221641/http://www.spacex.com/assets/video/spacex-rtls-green.mp4 |archive-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref><ref name="npc20110929">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrVD3tcVWTY |title=National Press Club: The Future of Human Spaceflight |medium=video |work=NPC video repository |date=September 29, 2011 |people=Mark Hamrick, Elon Musk |publisher=National Press Club |quote=@18:15 "It is a very tough engineering problem—and it wasn't something that I thought, wasn't sure it could be solved for a while. But then, just relatively recently, in the last 12 months or so, I've come to the conclusion that it can be solved. And SpaceX is going to try to do it. Now, we could fail. I am not saying we are certain of success here, but we are going to try to do it. And we have a design that, on paper, doing the calculations, doing the simulations, it does work. Now we need to make sure that those simulations and reality agree, because generally when they don't, reality wins. So that's to be determined."}}</ref><!-- ←the original source was http://www.c-span.org/Events/National-Press-Club-The-Future-of-Human-Spaceflight/10737424486/ |title=National Press Club: The Future of Human Spaceflight |work=C-SPAN.org |date=September 29, 2011 --- but that link has gone dead. Found another copy on the NPC video repository on YouTube --> In September 2012, SpaceX began flight tests on a prototype reusable first stage with the suborbital [[Grasshopper (rocket)|Grasshopper rocket]].<ref name="cl20121224" /> Those tests continued into 2014, including testing of a second and larger prototype vehicle, [[F9R Dev1]].
 
News of the Grasshopper test rocket had become public a few days earlier, when the [[Federal Aviation Administration|US Federal Aviation Administration]] released a [[National Environmental Policy Act|draft Environmental Impact Assessment]] for the SpaceX Test Site in Texas, and the space media had reported it.<ref name="faa20110922">{{cite web |url=http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/20110922%20spacex%20grasshopper%20draft%20ea.final.pdf |title=Draft Environmental Assessment for Issuing an Experimental Permit to SpaceX for Operation of the Grasshopper Vehicle at the McGregor Test Site, Texas |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration |date=September 22, 2011 |access-date=November 21, 2013 |archive-date=January 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112212209/http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/20110922%20spacex%20grasshopper%20draft%20ea.final.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="satspot20110926" /> In May 2012, SpaceX obtained a set of atmospheric test data for the recovery of the Falcon 9 first stage based on 176 test runs in the [[NASA]] [[Marshall Space Flight Center]] [[wind tunnel]] test facility. The work was contracted out by SpaceX under a reimbursable [[Space Act Agreement]] with NASA.<ref name="sn20120528">{{cite news |url=http://www.spacenews.com/article/nasa-finishes-wind-tunnel-testing-falcon-9-1st-stage |title=NASA Finishes Wind-tunnel Testing of Falcon 9 1st Stage |work=Space News |date=May 28, 2012 |access-date=June 26, 2012 }}</ref>
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Musk stated in May 2013 that the goal of the program is to achieve full and rapid reusability of the first stage by 2015, and to develop full launch vehicle reusability following that as "part of a future design architecture".<ref name="atd20130530">{{cite AV media |url=http://allthingsd.com/20130530/tesla-ceo-and-spacex-founder-elon-musk-the-full-d11-interview-video/ |title=Tesla CEO and SpaceX Founder Elon Musk: The Full D11 Interview (Video) |work=All Things D |last=Gannes |first=Liz |medium=Video interview |section=36:03 |date=May 30, 2013 |access-date=May 31, 2013 |quote=hopeful that sometime in the next couple of years we'll be able to achieve full and rapid reusability of the first stage—which is about three-quarters of the cost of the rocket—and then with a future design architecture, achieve full reusability. }}</ref> In September 2013, SpaceX said that if all aspects of the test program were successful and if a customer is interested, the first reflight of a Falcon 9 booster stage could happen as early as late 2014.<ref name="bbc20130930" />
 
In February 2014, SpaceX made explicit that the newly defined super-heavy launch vehicle for what was then called [[Mars Colonial Transporter]] would also make use of the reusable technology.<ref name=nsf20140307>{{cite news |last=Belluscio |first=Alejandro G. |title=SpaceX advances drive for Mars rocket via Raptor power |url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/03/spacex-advances-drive-mars-rocket-raptor-power/ |access-date=April 3, 2014 |newspaper=NASAspaceflight.com |date=March 7, 2014 |archive-date=September 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911235533/http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/03/spacex-advances-drive-mars-rocket-raptor-power/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This was consistent with Musk's strategic statement in 2012 that "The revolutionary breakthrough will come with rockets that are fully and rapidly reusable. We will never conquer [[Mars]] unless we do that. It'll be too expensive. The American colonies would never have been pioneered if the ships that crossed the ocean hadn't been reusable."<ref name=esquire20121115>{{cite news |last=Junod |first=Tom |title=Triumph of His Will |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2012/elon-musk-interview-1212 |access-date=April 5, 2014 |newspaper=Esquire |date=November 15, 2012 |archive-date=February 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207093828/http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2012/elon-musk-interview-1212 |url-status=live }}</ref>
This was consistent with Musk's strategic statement in 2012 that "The revolutionary breakthrough will come with rockets that are fully and rapidly reusable. We will never conquer [[Mars]] unless we do that. It'll be too expensive. The American colonies would never have been pioneered if the ships that crossed the ocean hadn't been reusable."<ref name=esquire20121115>{{cite news |last=Junod |first=Tom |title=Triumph of His Will |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2012/elon-musk-interview-1212 |access-date=April 5, 2014 |newspaper=Esquire |date=November 15, 2012 |archive-date=February 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207093828/http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2012/elon-musk-interview-1212 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
Also in May 2014, SpaceX announced an extensive test program for a reusable, powered landing [[space capsule]] called ''[[DragonFly (rocket)|DragonFly]]''. The tests were to be run in Texas at the [[McGregor Rocket Test Facility]] in 2014–2015.<ref name=nbc20140521>{{cite news |last=Boyle |first=Alan |title=Elon Musk's SpaceX Plans DragonFly Landing Tests |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/elon-musks-spacex-plans-dragonfly-landing-tests-n111386 |access-date=May 22, 2014 |newspaper=NBC News |date=May 21, 2014 |archive-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226001842/http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/elon-musks-spacex-plans-dragonfly-landing-tests-n111386/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
In June 2014, [[Chief operating officer|COO]] [[Gwynne Shotwell]] clarified that all funding for [[new product development|development]] and [[validation and verification|testing]] of the reusable launch system technology development program is private funding from SpaceX, with no contribution from the [[Federal government of the United States|US government]].<ref name=AtlanticCouncil20140604>
{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYocHwhfFDc |title=Discussion with Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO, SpaceX |publisher=Atlantic Council |first=Gwynne |last=Shotwell |time=22:35–26:20 |date=June 4, 2014 |access-date=June 9, 2014 |quote=''This technology element [reusable launch vehicle technology] all this innovation is being done by SpaceX alone, no one is paying us to do it. The government is very interested in the data we are collecting on this test series. ... This is the kind of thing that entrepreneurial investment and new entrants/innovators can do for an industry: fund their own improvements, both in the quality of their programs and the quality of their hardware, and the speed and cadence of their operations.''}}</ref><ref name="sfn20140606">{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Stephen |date=June 6, 2014 |title=SpaceX to balance business realities, rocket innovation |url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1406/06spacexmanifest/#.VAoLORaunr5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915042639/http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1406/06spacexmanifest/#.VAoLORaunr5 |archive-date=September 15, 2014 |access-date=September 5, 2014 |publisher=Spaceflight Now |quote=''SpaceX is using private capital to develop and demonstrate the Falcon 9 rocket's reusability. SpaceX has not disclosed how much the reusable rocket program will cost.''}}</ref> As of 2017 SpaceX had spent over a billion dollars on the development program.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Stephen |date=March 31, 2017 |title=SpaceX flies rocket for second time in historic test of cost-cutting technology |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/31/spacex-flies-rocket-for-second-time-in-historic-test-of-cost-cutting-technology/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516175434/https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/31/spacex-flies-rocket-for-second-time-in-historic-test-of-cost-cutting-technology/ |archive-date=May 16, 2020 |access-date=April 22, 2017 |publisher=Spaceflight Now |quote=''Musk said SpaceX made the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage reusable with entirely private funding, investing at least $1 billion in the effort...''}}</ref>
<ref name=sfn20140606>{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Stephen |title=SpaceX to balance business realities, rocket innovation |url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1406/06spacexmanifest/#.VAoLORaunr5 |access-date=September 5, 2014 |publisher=Spaceflight Now |date=June 6, 2014 |quote=''SpaceX is using private capital to develop and demonstrate the Falcon 9 rocket's reusability. SpaceX has not disclosed how much the reusable rocket program will cost'' |archive-date=September 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915042639/http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1406/06spacexmanifest/#.VAoLORaunr5 |url-status=live }}</ref>
As of 2017 SpaceX had spent over a billion dollars on the development program.<ref>{{cite news |title=SpaceX flies rocket for second time in historic test of cost-cutting technology |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/31/spacex-flies-rocket-for-second-time-in-historic-test-of-cost-cutting-technology/ |publisher=Spaceflight Now |first1=Stephen |last1=Clark |date=March 31, 2017 |access-date=April 22, 2017 |quote=''Musk said SpaceX made the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage reusable with entirely private funding, investing at least $1 billion in the effort [...]'' |archive-date=May 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516175434/https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/31/spacex-flies-rocket-for-second-time-in-historic-test-of-cost-cutting-technology/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
For the first time, SpaceX stated in July 2014 that they are "highly confident of being able to land successfully on a [[floating launch platform|floating launch pad]] or back at the launch site and refly the rocket with no required refurbishment."<ref name=sn20140721>
{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Brian |title=SpaceX Releases Footage of Falcon 9 First-stage Splashdown |url=http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/41350spacex-releases-footage-of-falcon-9-first-stage-splashdown |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140726222057/http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/41350spacex-releases-footage-of-falcon-9-first-stage-splashdown |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 26, 2014 |access-date=July 23, 2014 |publisher=SpaceNews |date=July 21, 2014}}</ref>
 
By late 2014, SpaceX suspended or abandoned the plan to recover and reuse the Falcon 9 second stage;<ref name=mit20141024>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y13jbl7ASxY&t=14m20s |title=Elon Musk interview at MIT, October 2014 |date=October 24, 2014 |via=YouTube}}</ref> the additional mass of the required heat shield, landing gear, and low-powered landing engines would incur too great a performance penalty. While the idea was mentioned again later, it was ultimately abandoned as [[SpaceX Starship|Starship]] development made progress.<ref name="nosecondstagereuse" />
 
In December 2015, following the recovery of the [[Falcon 9 Flight 20|first stage from December 22 launch]], SpaceX projected that the first reflight of a recovered booster would likely occur in 2016, but not using the December 22 recovered stage.<ref name="bi20151225">{{cite news |urlauthor=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/experts-applaud-spacex-landing-cautious-about-outlook/Orwig |first=Jessica |date=December 25, 2015 |title=Elon Musk's SpaceX already knows what it's going to do with the history-making rocket —– but it's not what you think |author=Jessica Orwig |workurl=Business Insider |date=December 25, 2015 |accesshttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/experts-date=December 25, 2015applaud-spacex-landing-cautious-about-outlook/ |archiveurl-datestatus=September 6, 2021live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906023949/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/experts-applaud-spacex-landing-cautious-about-outlook/ |urlarchive-statusdate=liveSeptember 6, 2021 |access-date=December 25, 2015 |work=Business Insider}}</ref>
 
In September 2016, SpaceX announced that development was underway to extend the reusable flight hardware to second stages{{cn|date=December 2023}}, a more challenging engineering problem because the vehicle is travelling at [[Orbital speed#Tangential velocities at altitude|orbital velocity]]. The reusable technology was to have been extended to the 2016 designs of both the tanker and crewed spaceship upper stage variants as well as the first stage of the [[Interplanetary Transport System]],<ref name=nsf20160927>{{cite news |last=Bergin |first=Chris |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/09/spacex-reveals-mars-game-changer-colonization-plan/ |title=SpaceX reveals ITS Mars game changer via colonization plan |work=[[NASASpaceFlight.com]] |date=September 27, 2016 |access-date=October 16, 2016 |archive-date=July 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713031720/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/09/spacex-reveals-mars-game-changer-colonization-plan/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=sn20141024>
{{cite news |last1=Foust |first1=Jeff |title=Next Falcon 9 Launch Could See First-stage Platform Landing |url=http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/42305next-falcon-9-launch-could-see-first-stage-platform-landing |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141025142556/http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/42305next-falcon-9-launch-could-see-first-stage-platform-landing |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2014 |access-date=October 25, 2014 |work=SpaceNews |date=October 25, 2014}}</ref><ref name=nsf20140307/> and is considered paramount to the plans Elon Musk is championing to enable the [[Colonization of Mars|settlement of Mars]].<ref name=gq20151212>{{cite news |last1=Heath |first1=Chris |title=How Elon Musk Plans on Reinventing the World (and Mars) |url=https://www.gq.com/story/elon-musk-mars-spacex-tesla-interview |access-date=December 12, 2015 |work=GQ |date=December 12, 2015 |quote=''SpaceX exists to further [the vision of humans becoming multi-planetary] on several fronts: to develop the reusable rocket technology that would be needed to ferry large numbers of people, and large amounts of cargo, to Mars; ...'' |archive-date=December 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212142443/http://www.gq.com/story/elon-musk-mars-spacex-tesla-interview |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="spacex-itsvideo201609-09:20">
and is considered paramount to the plans Elon Musk is championing to enable the [[Colonization of Mars|settlement of Mars]].<ref name=gq20151212>{{cite news |last1=Heath |first1=Chris |title=How Elon Musk Plans on Reinventing the World (and Mars) |url=https://www.gq.com/story/elon-musk-mars-spacex-tesla-interview |access-date=December 12, 2015 |work=GQ |date=December 12, 2015 |quote=''SpaceX exists to further [the vision of humans becoming multi-planetary] on several fronts: to develop the reusable rocket technology that would be needed to ferry large numbers of people, and large amounts of cargo, to Mars; ...'' |archive-date=December 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212142443/http://www.gq.com/story/elon-musk-mars-spacex-tesla-interview |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="spacex-itsvideo201609-09:20">
{{cite AV media |people=Elon Musk |date=September 27, 2016 |title=Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Uyfqi_TE8 |access-date=October 10, 2016 |time=9:20–10:10 |___location=IAC67, Guadalajara, Mexico |publisher=SpaceX |quote=''So it is a bit tricky. Because we have to figure out how to improve the cost of the trips to Mars by five million percent ... translates to an improvement of approximately 4 1/2 orders of magnitude. These are the key elements that are needed in order to achieve a 4 1/2 order of magnitude improvement. Most of the improvement would come from full reusability—somewhere between 2 and 2 1/2 orders of magnitude—and then the other 2 orders of magnitude would come from refilling in orbit, propellant production on Mars, and choosing the right propellant.'' }}</ref><ref name=spacex-itspresentation201609>
{{cite web |url=http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/mars_presentation.pdf |publisher=[[SpaceX]] |title=Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species |date=September 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928040332/http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/mars_presentation.pdf |archive-date=September 28, 2016 |access-date=October 16, 2016}}</ref> In 2016, initial test flights of an Interplanetary Transport System vehicle were expected no earlier than 2020.<ref name=nsf20160927/>
 
In 2017 SpaceX was making test flight progress in [[Iterative and incremental development|incrementally and iteratively]] developing a fairing recovery system.<ref name=verge20170330>{{cite news |last1=Lopatto |first1=Elizabeth |title=SpaceX even landed the nose cone from its historic used Falcon 9 rocket launch |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15132314/spacex-launch-fairing-landing-falcon-9-thruster-parachutes |access-date=31 March 2017 |work=[[The Verge]] |date=30 March 2017 |archive-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604124516/https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15132314/spacex-launch-fairing-landing-falcon-9-thruster-parachutes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=sn20170330>{{cite news |last=Henry |first=Caleb |url=http://spacenews.com/spacex-demonstrates-rocket-reusability-with-ses-10-launch-and-booster-landing/ |title=SpaceX demonstrates reusability |date=March 30, 2017 |work=[[SpaceNews]] |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=May 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190519155831/https://spacenews.com/spacex-demonstrates-rocket-reusability-with-ses-10-launch-and-booster-landing/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2017, Musk said "we are quite close to being able to recover the fairing. ... We've got a decent shot of recovering a fairing by the end of the year, and reflight by late this year or early next."<ref name=issR&Dconf20170719-14:15>
{{cite AV media |people=Elon Musk |date=July 19, 2017 |title=Elon Musk, ISS R&D Conference |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqvBhhTtUm4?t=852 |access-date=September 13, 2017 |time=14:15–15:55 |___location=ISS R&D Conference, Washington DC, USA |quote=''I think we are quite close to being able to recover the fairing. ... about a 5 or 6 million dollar piece of equipment. We've got a decent shot of recovering a fairing by the end of the year, and reflight by late this year or early next. ... Upper stage is about 20 percent of the cost of the mission. So if you get boost stage and fairing we're around 80 percent reusable. ... Think for a lot of missions, we could even bring the second stage back. So were going to try to do that, but our primary focus [for the next couple of years will be crew Dragon].'' }}</ref> The [[cost]] savings to SpaceX of recovering the fairing is expected to be on the order of {{USD|5 million}}. Together, the booster stage and the fairing make up approximately 80 percent of the cost of a launch.<ref name=issR&Dconf20170719-14:15/> The fairings are equipped with a steerable parachute and fall towards a ship equipped with a big net.<ref name="fairingcatch" /> Intact fairings could be recovered from the ocean starting in 2017,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lopatto |first1=Elizabeth |title=SpaceX even landed the nose cone from its historic used Falcon 9 rocket launch |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15132314/spacex-launch-fairing-landing-falcon-9-thruster-parachutes |access-date=March 31, 2017 |publisher=[[The Verge]] |date=March 30, 2017 |archive-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604124516/https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15132314/spacex-launch-fairing-landing-falcon-9-thruster-parachutes |url-status=live }}</ref> with landings in the net from 2019 on.<ref name="fairingcatch">{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/06/spacex-successfully-launches-twice-re-flown-falcon-9-for-amos-17-mission/|title=SpaceX successfully launches twice-flown Falcon 9, catches fairing at sea|access-date=August 23, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209122951/https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/06/spacex-successfully-launches-twice-re-flown-falcon-9-for-amos-17-mission/|url-status=live}}</ref>▼
In July 2017, Musk said "we are quite close to being able to recover the fairing. ... We've got a decent shot of recovering a fairing by the end of the year, and reflight by late this year or early next."<ref name=issR&Dconf20170719-14:15>
{{cite AV media |people=Elon Musk |date=July 19, 2017 |title=Elon Musk, ISS R&D Conference |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqvBhhTtUm4?t=852 |access-date=September 13, 2017 |time=14:15–15:55 |___location=ISS R&D Conference, Washington DC, USA |quote=''I think we are quite close to being able to recover the fairing. ... about a 5 or 6 million dollar piece of equipment. We've got a decent shot of recovering a fairing by the end of the year, and reflight by late this year or early next. ... Upper stage is about 20 percent of the cost of the mission. So if you get boost stage and fairing we're around 80 percent reusable. ... Think for a lot of missions, we could even bring the second stage back. So were going to try to do that, but our primary focus [for the next couple of years will be crew Dragon].'' }}</ref>
▲The [[cost]] savings to SpaceX of recovering the fairing is expected to be on the order of {{USD|5 million}}. Together, the booster stage and the fairing make up approximately 80 percent of the cost of a launch.<ref name=issR&Dconf20170719-14:15/> The fairings are equipped with a steerable parachute and fall towards a ship equipped with a big net.<ref name="fairingcatch" /> Intact fairings could be recovered from the ocean starting in 2017,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lopatto |first1=Elizabeth |title=SpaceX even landed the nose cone from its historic used Falcon 9 rocket launch |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15132314/spacex-launch-fairing-landing-falcon-9-thruster-parachutes |access-date=March 31, 2017 |publisher=[[The Verge]] |date=March 30, 2017 |archive-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604124516/https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15132314/spacex-launch-fairing-landing-falcon-9-thruster-parachutes |url-status=live }}</ref> with landings in the net from 2019 on.<ref name="fairingcatch">{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/06/spacex-successfully-launches-twice-re-flown-falcon-9-for-amos-17-mission/|title=SpaceX successfully launches twice-flown Falcon 9, catches fairing at sea|access-date=August 23, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209122951/https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/06/spacex-successfully-launches-twice-re-flown-falcon-9-for-amos-17-mission/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
== Technologies ==
Several new technologies needed to be developed and tested to facilitate successful launch and recovery of the first [[rocket stage|stages]] of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, and both stages of [[SpaceX Starship|Starship]]. Since 2017, recovery and reuse of Falcon rocket boosters has become routine.
 
[[File:Falcon 9 1st stage re-entry with grid fins; DSCOVR mission (16849254595).png|thumb|upright=1.2|Falcon 9 booster stage re-entry with grid fins, February 2015 following the launch of the [[DSCOVR]] mission]]
The technologies that were developed for Falcon 9, some of which are still being refined, include:
* [[Rocket engine restart|Restartable]] [[ignition system]] for the first-stage booster.<ref name="musk20130428">{{cite tweet |user=elonmusk |number=328386732934430720 |title=First test of the Falcon 9-R (reusable) ignition system |date=April 28, 2013}}</ref> Restarts are required at both supersonic velocities in the upper atmosphere—in order to reverse the high velocity away from the launch pad and put the booster on a descent trajectory back toward the launch pad—and at high [[transonic]] velocities in the lower atmosphere—in order to slow the terminal descent and to perform a soft landing.<ref name="pa20150110">{{cite video |people=Gwynne Shotwell |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtNgWK4mm0M |title=Singapore Satellite Industry Forum 2013 - Opening Keynote |access-date=April 9, 2016 |date=June 17, 2013 |language=en-us |time=16:15–17:05 |access-date=April 9, 2016 |quote=The Dragon capsule has a shape that is stable on reentry from orbit, whereas rocket states traditionally are not stable on reentry, so there is a lot of software involved, a lot of guidance navigation and control involved, and a lot of thermal protection required; so we have to make advances in all those areas. We also have to restart the engines supersonically. |people=Gwynne Shotwell}}</ref> If the booster returns to a landing site on land another burn is needed shortly after stage separation to reverse the flight direction of the booster, for a total of four burns for the center engine.
* New [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]] technology for the booster to bring the descending [[rocket body]] through the atmosphere in a manner conducive both to non-destructive return and [[Aerodynamic control surfaces|sufficient aerodynamic control]] such that the terminal phase of the [[VTVL|landing]] is possible.<ref name="pa20140114vid">
{{cite video |people=Gwynne Shotwell |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtNgWK4mm0M |title=Singapore Satellite Industry Forum 2013 -– Opening Keynote |date=June 17, 2013 |language=en |access-date=April 9, 2016 |datepeople=JuneGwynne 17, 2013Shotwell}}</ref> This includes sufficient roll [[Control system|control authority]] to keep the rocket from spinning excessively as occurred on the [[Falcon 9 Flight 6#Post-mission launch vehicle testing|first high-altitude flight test]] in September 2013, where the roll rate exceeded the capabilities of the booster [[attitude control system]] (ACS) and the fuel in the tanks "centrifuged" to the side of the tank shutting down the single engine involved in the low-altitude deceleration maneuver.<ref name="pa20130930" /><ref name="tss20140321b">{{cite AV media|people=Gwynne Shotwell |dateurl=March 21, http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2212-BWB-2014-03-21.mp3 |title=Broadcast 2212: Special Edition, interview with Gwynne Shotwell |date=March 21, 2014 |medium=audio file |urllanguage=http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2212-BWB-2014-03-21.mp3en |publisher=The Space Show |time=51;50–52;55 |access-date=March 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322013556/http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2212-BWB-2014-03-21.mp3 |archive-date=March 22, 2014 |formaturl-status=mp3dead |timeformat=51;50–52;55 |publisher=The Space Showmp3 |id=2212 |url-statuspeople=deadGwynne Shotwell}}</ref> The technology needs to handle the transition from the vacuum of space at [[hypersonic]] conditions, decelerating to [[supersonic]] velocities and passing through [[Transonic buffet|transonic]] [[Buffet (turbulence)|buffet]], before relighting one of the main-stage engines at [[terminal velocity]].<ref name=pm20130930/>
* Hypersonic [[grid fin]]s were added to the booster test vehicle design beginning on the [[Falcon 9 Flight 14|fifth ocean controlled-descent test flight]] in 2014 in order to enable precision landing. Arranged in an "X" configuration, the grid fins control the descending rocket's [[lift vector]] once the vehicle has returned to the atmosphere to enable a much more precise [[Landing ellipse|landing ___location]].<ref name=sx20141216>{{cite web |title=X MARKS THE SPOT: FALCON 9 ATTEMPTS OCEAN PLATFORM LANDING |url=http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/12/16/x-marks-spot-falcon-9-attempts-ocean-platform-landing |publisher=SpaceX |access-date=December 17, 2014 |date=December 16, 2014 |quote=A key upgrade to enable precision targeting of the Falcon 9 all the way to touchdown is the addition of four hypersonic grid fins placed in an X-wing configuration around the vehicle, stowed on ascent and deployed on reentry to control the stage’s lift vector. Each fin moves independently for roll, pitch and yaw, and combined with the engine gimbaling, will allow for precision landing – first on the autonomous spaceport drone ship, and eventually on land. |archive-date=December 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217062424/http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/12/16/x-marks-spot-falcon-9-attempts-ocean-platform-landing |url-status=live }}<!-- quotation added as SpaceX often removes these sorts of news source pages after some months --></ref><ref name=blackmore2016/> Iteration on the design continued into 2017. Larger and more robust grid fins, made from forged [[titanium]] and left unpainted, were first tested in June 2017, and have been used on all reusable Block 5 Falcon 9 first stages since May 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/06/spacex-falcon-9-iridium-next-2-launch/|title=SpaceX Doubleheader Part 2 – Falcon 9 conducts Iridium NEXT-2 launch – NASASpaceFlight.com|website=www.nasaspaceflight.com|date=June 25, 2017|access-date=July 4, 2017|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111202928/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/06/spacex-falcon-9-iridium-next-2-launch/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Falcon 9 with CRS-3 Dragon in SLC-40 hangar (16855338881).jpg|thumb|left|Falcon 9 v1.1 with landing legs attached, in stowed position as the rocket is prepared for launch in its hangar]]
Line 104 ⟶ 97:
* [[Spacecraft attitude control|Terminal guidance]] and landing capability,<ref name="nsj20130309">{{cite news |url=http://www.newspacejournal.com/2013/03/09/more-on-grasshoppers-johnny-cash-hover-slam-test/ |title=More on Grasshopper's "Johnny Cash hover slam" test |work=NewSpace Journal |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=March 9, 2013 |access-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-date=May 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515070423/http://www.newspacejournal.com/2013/03/09/more-on-grasshoppers-johnny-cash-hover-slam-test/ |url-status=live }}</ref> including a [[Guidance, navigation and control|vehicle control system]] and a control system [[Real-time computing|software algorithm]] to be able to land a rocket with the thrust-to-weight ratio of the vehicle greater than one,<ref name="nbc20130309">{{cite news |url=http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/09/17251376-spacexs-elon-musk-shows-off-grasshopper-test-rockets-latest-hop?lite |title=SpaceX's Elon Musk shows off Grasshopper test rocket's latest hop |work=NBC News |last=Boyle |first=Alan |date=May 2, 2013 |access-date=March 9, 2013 |archive-date=March 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311133426/http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/09/17251376-spacexs-elon-musk-shows-off-grasshopper-test-rockets-latest-hop?lite |url-status=live }}</ref> with [[Closed-loop control|closed-loop]] [[thrust-vector|thrust vector]] and [[throttleable|throttle control]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/09/1192883/-Woo-hoo-Awesome-SpaceX-Grasshopper-Hover-Slam-Launch-Doubles-Previous-Height-w-Video |title=Woo-hoo! Awesome SpaceX Grasshopper "Hover-Slam" Rocket Launch Doubles Previous Height |work=Daily Kos |date=March 9, 2013 |access-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-date=May 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523220747/http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/09/1192883/-Woo-hoo-Awesome-SpaceX-Grasshopper-Hover-Slam-Launch-Doubles-Previous-Height-w-Video |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=blackmore2016/>
* [[GN&C|Navigation]] sensor suite for precision landing<ref name=pa20140114vid/><ref name="sx20130705">{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGimzB5QM1M |title=Grasshopper 325m Test {{!}} Single Camera (Hexacopter) |work=YouTube |publisher=SpaceX |date=June 14, 2013 |access-date=July 6, 2013 }}</ref><ref name=blackmore2016/>
[[File:Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship - Just Read the Instructions (16450469297).png|thumb|upright=1.2|Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship, in port in January 2015.]]
* A large [[floating landing platform]] for launches where the first stage does not have sufficient fuel to return to the launch site. As of 2022, SpaceX built three [[autonomous spaceport drone ship]]s, one operating the West coast and two on the East coast of the United States.
* A [[thermal protection system]] to avoid damage to the first stage when re-entering the atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/11/spacex-debuts-an-improved-human-rated-model-of-the-falcon-9-rocket/|title=SpaceX debuts new model of the Falcon 9 rocket designed for astronauts|date=11 May 2018|access-date=August 23, 2019|archive-date=April 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401055341/https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/11/spacex-debuts-an-improved-human-rated-model-of-the-falcon-9-rocket/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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{{cite news |last=Belfiore |first=Michael |title=SpaceX Brings a Booster Safely Back to Earth |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/news/526806/spacex-brings-a-booster-safely-back-to-earth/ |access-date=April 25, 2014 |newspaper=MIT Technology Review |date=April 22, 2014}}</ref><ref name=bi20141125>{{cite news |last1=Orwig |first1=Jessica |title=Elon Musk Just Unveiled A Game-Changing Ocean Landing Pad For His Reusable Rockets |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-rockets-that-land-at-sea-2014-11 |access-date=December 11, 2014 |work=Business Insider |date=November 25, 2014 |quote=''The first successful "soft landing" of a Falcon 9 rocket happened in April of this year'' |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026092835/http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-rockets-that-land-at-sea-2014-11 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
[[File:Falcon 9 First Stage Reusability Graphic.jpg|thumb|upright=2.6|Depiction of Falcon 9 landing trajectory for some of the floating-platform recovery tests]]<!-- not all of the controlled-descent tests had three post-separation burns; e.g., some of the early ones only had two burns, and skipped the boostback burn. -->
Space industry analyst Ajay Kothari has noted that SpaceX reusable technology could do for [[space transport]] "what jet engines did for air transportation sixty years ago when people never imagined that more than 500 million passengers would travel by airplanes every year and that the cost could be reduced to the level it is—all because of passenger volume and reliable reusability."<ref name=tsr20140414>{{cite news |last=Kothari |first=Ajay P. |title=Robust and reusable? |url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2490/1 |access-date=April 14, 2014 |newspaper=The Space Review |date=April 14, 2014 |archive-date=April 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415115822/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2490/1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
SpaceX said in January 2014 that if they are successful in developing the reusable technology, launch prices of around {{USD|5 to 7 million}} for a reusable Falcon 9 were possible,<ref name=ps20140114>{{cite news |last=Messier |first=Doug |title=Shotwell: Reusable Falcon 9 Would Cost $5 to $7 Million Per Launch |url=http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/01/14/shotwell/ |access-date=January 15, 2014 |newspaper=Parabolic Arc |date=January 14, 2014 |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216044345/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/01/14/shotwell/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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