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Following analysis of the flight test data from the first booster-controlled descent in September 2013, SpaceX announced it had successfully tested a large amount of new technology on the flight, and that coupled with the technology advancements made on the Grasshopper low-altitude landing demonstrator, they were ready to test a full recovery of the booster stage. The first flight test was successful; SpaceX said it was "able to successfully transition from vacuum through [[hypersonic]], through [[supersonic]], through [[transonic]] speeds, and light the engines all the way and control the stage all the way through [the atmosphere]".<ref name=pm20130930>{{cite news |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/musk-spacex-now-has-all-the-pieces-for-reusable-rockets-15985616 |title=Musk: SpaceX Now Has "All the Pieces" For Truly Reusable Rockets |work=Popular Mechanics |last=Belfiore |first=Michael |date=September 30, 2013 |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012044151/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/musk-spacex-now-has-all-the-pieces-for-reusable-rockets-15985616 |url-status=live }}</ref> Musk said, "the next attempt to recovery [sic] the Falcon 9 first stage will be on the fourth flight of the upgraded rocket. This would be [the] third commercial Dragon cargo flight to ISS. [International Space Station]"<ref name="pa20130930">{{cite news |url=http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/09/29/falcon-9-launch-payloads-orbit-vandenberg/ |title=Falcon 9 Launches Payloads into Orbit From Vandenberg |work=Parabolic Arc |last=Messier |first=Doug |date=September 29, 2013 |access-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930094429/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/09/29/falcon-9-launch-payloads-orbit-vandenberg/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
This second flight test took place during the April 2014 Dragon flight to the ISS. SpaceX attached [[Launch vehicle landing gear|landing legs]] to the first stage, decelerated it over the ocean and attempted a simulated landing over the water, following the ignition of the second stage on the [[SpaceX CRS-3|third cargo resupply mission]] contracted to NASA. The first stage was successfully slowed enough for a soft landing over the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="ut20140419" /> SpaceX announced in February 2014 the intent to continue the tests to land the first-stage booster in the ocean until precision control from hypersonic through subsonic regimes had been proven.<ref name=dn20140224>{{cite news |last=Klotz |first=Irene |title=SpaceX Falcon Rocket to Test Landing Legs |url=http://news.discovery.com/space/private-spaceflight/spacex-falcon-rocket-to-test-precision-landing-legs-140224.htm |access-date=February 25, 2014 |newspaper=Discovery News |date=February 24, 2014 |archive-date=March 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302123926/http://news.discovery.com/space/private-spaceflight/spacex-falcon-rocket-to-test-precision-landing-legs-140224.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Five additional controlled-descent tests were conducted in the remainder of 2014 through April 2015, including two attempts to land on a [[floating landing platform]]—a SpaceX-built [[Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship]]—on the [[Atlantic Ocean]] east of the launch site, both of which brought the vehicle to the landing platform, but neither of which resulted in a successful landing.[[File:ORBCOMM-2_First-Stage_Landing_(23271687254).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Falcon 9 Flight 20's first stage landing viewed from a helicopter, December 22, 2015]]
==== First landing on ground pad ====
During the [[SpaceX CRS-7|2015 launch hiatus]], SpaceX requested regulatory approval from the [[FAA]] to attempt returning their [[Falcon 9 Flight 20|next flight]] to [[CCAFS|Cape Canaveral]] instead of targeting a floating platform in the ocean. The goal was to [[VTVL|land the booster vertically]] at the leased ''[[Landing Zone 1]]'' facility—the former [[Launch Complex 13]] where SpaceX had recently built a large rocket landing pad.<ref name=ft201511201>{{cite news |last1=Dean |first1=James |title=SpacexSpaceX wants to land next booster at Cape Canaveral |url=http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/spacex/2015/12/01/spacex-wants-land-next-booster-cape-canaveral/76576142/ |access-date=December 2, 2015 |work=Florida Today |date=December 1, 2015 |archive-date=December 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210054303/http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/spacex/2015/12/01/spacex-wants-land-next-booster-cape-canaveral/76576142/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The FAA approved the safety plan for the ground landing on December 18, 2015.<ref name="os20151220">{{cite news |date=December 20, 2015 |title=SpaceX aims for Sunday launch and ground landing |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/go-for-launch/os-spacex-engine-testing-sunday-launch-20151218-post.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221215241/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/go-for-launch/os-spacex-engine-testing-sunday-launch-20151218-post.html |archive-date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=December 20, 2015 |work=Orlando Sentinel |___location=Orlando, Florida}}</ref> The first stage landed successfully on target at 20:38 local time on December 21 (01:38 UTC on December 22).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/21/10640306/spacex-elon-musk-rocket-landing-success |title=SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket after launching it to space |work=[[The Verge]] |first=Loren |last=Grush |date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-date=June 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628014841/https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/21/10640306/spacex-elon-musk-rocket-landing-success |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=nsf20151231/>
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==== Landing attempts on drone ships ====
[[Falcon 9 Flight 21]] launched the [[Jason-3]] satellite on January 17, 2016, and attempted to land on the [[autonomous spaceport drone ship|floating platform]] ''Just Read the Instructions'',<ref name=nbc20160107>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/spacex-plans-drone-ship-rocket-landing-jan-17-launch-n492471 |title=SpaceX Plans Drone Ship Rocket Landing for Jan. 17 Launch |publisher=[[NBC News]] |first=Devin |last=Coldewey |date=January 7, 2016 |access-date=January 8, 2016 |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201134820/http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/spacex-plans-drone-ship-rocket-landing-jan-17-launch-n492471 |url-status=live }}</ref> located for the first time about {{convert|200|mi|km}} out in the [[Pacific Ocean]].<!-- press conference, Hans Koenigsmann speaking for SpaceX: they are not attempting the landing on the land landing site at VAFB SLC4W because they have not yet received approval from the regulatory authorities; will find a secondary source before adding to the article prose... --><!-- HK: they may try to give video coverage of the landing, but unsure they can do it from over the horizon, satellite links, etc. -->Approximately 9 minutes into the flight, the live video feed from the drone ship went down due to the loss of its lock on the uplink satellite. The vehicle landed smoothly onto the vessel but one of the four landing legs failed to lock properly, reportedly due to ice from the heavy pre-launch [[fog]] preventing a lockout [[collet]] from latching.<ref name=sfn20160118>{{cite web |title=SpaceX narrowly misses booster landing at sea |work=Spaceflight Now |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2016/01/18/spacex-narrowly-misses-booster-landing-at-sea/ |date=January 18, 2016 |access-date=January 18, 2016 |first=Stephen |last=Clark |archive-date=January 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122203126/http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/01/18/spacex-narrowly-misses-booster-landing-at-sea/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Consequently the booster fell over shortly after touchdown and was destroyed in a [[deflagration]] upon impact with the pad.<ref name=gw20160117>{{cite news |last=Boyle |first=Alan |url=http://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacex-launches-jason-3-satellite-then-tries-landing-falcon-9-rocket-at-sea/ |title=SpaceX rocket launches satellite, but tips over during sea landing attempt |work=GeekWire |date=January 17, 2016 |access-date=January 18, 2016 |archive-date=January 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130022126/http://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacex-launches-jason-3-satellite-then-tries-landing-falcon-9-rocket-at-sea/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=rud>{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqirNbwEc0/ |title=Flight 21 landing and breaking a leg |work=Instagram |first=Elon |last=Musk |author-link=Elon Musk |date=January 17, 2016 |access-date=June 5, 2016 |archive-date=December 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211231212/https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqirNbwEc0/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[Falcon 9 Flight 22|Flight 22]] was carrying a heavy payload of {{convert|5271|kg|sigfig=2}} to [[geostationary transfer orbit]] (GTO). This was heavier than the previously advertised maximum lift capacity to GTO being made possible by going slightly [[subsynchronous orbit|subsynchronous]]. Following delays caused by failure of [[Falcon 9 Flight 19|Flight 19]], SpaceX agreed to provide extra thrust to the [[SES-9]] satellite to take it [[supersynchronous orbit|supersynchronous]].<ref name="sfn20160224">{{cite news |last=Clark |first=Stephen |date=February 24, 2016 |title=Falcon 9 rocket to give SES 9 telecom satellite an extra boost |url=http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/02/24/falcon-9-rocket-to-give-ses-9-telecom-satellite-an-extra-boost/ |
==== First landings at sea ====
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{{As of|2018|08|06}}, SpaceX had [[List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters|recovered 21 first-stage boosters from previous missions]], of which six were recovered twice, yielding a total 27 landings. In 2017, SpaceX flew a total of 5 missions out of 20 with re-used boosters ({{percent|5|20}}). In total, 14 boosters have been re-flown {{as of|August 2018|lc=y}}.
On July 28, 2016, the first stage from the [[JCSAT-2B]] mission was successfully test-fired for a full duration at the SpaceX McGregor facility.<ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZQY902xQcw |title=Landed Falcon 9 First Stage Test Firing |publisher=SpaceX |date=July 28, 2016}}</ref> The first reuse attempt occurred on 30 March 2017<ref name="SpaceflightNowSchedule">{{Cite web
SpaceX spent four months refurbishing the first booster to be re-used, [[B1021]], and launched it again after approximately one year.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/27/hotfire-test-completed-ahead-of-milestone-falcon-9-launch-thursday/ |work= Spaceflight Now |title= Hotfire test completed ahead of milestone Falcon 9 launch Thursday |first= Stephen |last= Clark |date= 2017-03-27 |access-date= 2017-04-01 |archive-date= March 30, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170330013549/https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/27/hotfire-test-completed-ahead-of-milestone-falcon-9-launch-thursday/ |url-status= live }}</ref> The second booster to be flown again, [[B1029]], was refurbished in "only a couple of months"<ref name=sir-20170626 /> and re-launched after five months.<ref name=nsf-20170623 /> Elon Musk has stated a goal to turn around a first stage within 24 hours.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/31/spacex-makes-history-successfully-launching-first-recycled-rocket/ |newspaper= [[The Daily Telegraph]] |agency= [[Reuters]] |title= SpaceX makes history by successfully launching first recycled rocket booster |date= 2017-03-31 |access-date= 2017-04-01 |archive-date= February 11, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180211144953/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/31/spacex-makes-history-successfully-launching-first-recycled-rocket/ |url-status= live }}</ref> Musk remains convinced that this long-term goal can be met by SpaceX
Boosters [[B1019]] and [[B1021]] were retired and put on display.{{when|date=August 2016}} [[B1029]] was also retired after the [[BulgariaSat-1]] mission. B1023, B1025, B1031 and B1035 were recovered a second time, while B1032 and B1036 were deliberately sunk at sea after a soft ocean touchdown.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SpaceX Booster Flight History
By mid-2019, having reflown any single booster only three times to date, SpaceX indicated that they plan to use a single booster at least five times by the end of 2019.<ref name=sn20190628>{{cite news |last=Henry |first=Caleb |url=https://spacenews.com/spacex-targets-2021-commercial-starship-launch/ |title=SpaceX targets 2021 commercial Starship launch |work=[[SpaceNews]] |date=28 June 2019 |access-date=29 June 2019 |archive-date=August 28, 2019 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20190828053242/https://spacenews.com/spacex%2Dtargets%2D2021%2Dcommercial%2Dstarship%2Dlaunch/ |url-status=live }}</ref> No booster achieved this timeline, but [[Falcon 9 booster B1048|B1048]] flew four times and two more ([[Falcon 9 booster B1046|B1046]] and [[Falcon 9 booster B1049|B1049]]) made a fourth flight in January 2020. In March 2020, SpaceX first flew a booster ([[Falcon 9 booster B1048|B1048]]) for the fifth time.<ref>{{Cite web |
[[File:Falcon Heavy Side Boosters landing on LZ1 and LZ2 - 2018 (25254688767).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Falcon Heavy Side Boosters landing on LZ1 and LZ2 in 2018]]
====Falcon Heavy reusability====
The [[Falcon Heavy test flight]] had no contracted customer, and in order to limit the cost on such a
==== Block 5 boosters ====
{{main|Falcon 9 Block 5}}
With a streak of 19 successful recovery attempts of the first stage from 2016 through to early 2018, SpaceX has focused on rapid reusability of first stage boosters. Block 3 and Block 4 proved economically feasible to be flown twice, as 11 such boosters have been reflown in 2017 and 2018. [[Falcon 9 Full Thrust Block 5|Block 5]] has been designed with multiple reuses in mind, up to 10 reuses with minimal inspection and up to 100 uses with refurbishment.<ref>
=== Fairing reuse ===
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Payload fairings have traditionally been [[Expendable payload fairing|expendable]], where they have either burned up in the atmosphere or were destroyed upon impacting the ocean. As early as mid-2015, Musk hinted that SpaceX might be working on fairing reusability, following the discovery of wreckage of an unidentified Falcon 9 launch vehicle section off the coast of [[The Bahamas]], and was subsequently confirmed by SpaceX to be a component of a payload fairing that had washed ashore.<ref name=sn20150601>
{{cite web |last1=Leone|first1=Dan |title=Beachcomber Finds SpaceX Rocket Wreckage in Bahamas |url=http://spacenews.com/beachcomber-finds-spacex-rocket-wreckage-in-bahamas/ |work=[[SpaceNews]] |access-date=8 March 2018 |date=1 June 2015}}</ref> By April 2016, SpaceX had publicly announced Falcon 9 fairing recovery as an objective.<ref name=verge20170330/> The cost of the fairing is about $6 million per launch, which accounts for approximately ten percent of the overall launch costs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Stephen |title=New photos illustrate progress in SpaceX's fairing recovery attempts – Spaceflight Now |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/01/new-photos-illustrate-progress-in-spacexs-fairing-recovery-attempts/ |website=spaceflightnow.com |publisher=Pole Star Publications Ltd |access-date=7 August 2018 |date=June 1, 2018 |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616154300/https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/01/new-photos-illustrate-progress-in-spacexs-fairing-recovery-attempts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Musk said in 2017: "Imagine if you had $6 million in cash in a pallet flying through the air, and it was going to smash into the ocean. Would you try to recover that? Yes, yes you would."<ref name=sn20210526/>▼
▲By April 2016, SpaceX had publicly announced Falcon 9 fairing recovery as an objective.<ref name=verge20170330/> The cost of the fairing is about $6 million per launch, which accounts for approximately ten percent of the overall launch costs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Stephen |title=New photos illustrate progress in SpaceX's fairing recovery attempts – Spaceflight Now |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/01/new-photos-illustrate-progress-in-spacexs-fairing-recovery-attempts/ |website=spaceflightnow.com |publisher=Pole Star Publications Ltd |access-date=7 August 2018 |date=June 1, 2018 |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616154300/https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/01/new-photos-illustrate-progress-in-spacexs-fairing-recovery-attempts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Musk said in 2017: "Imagine if you had $6 million in cash in a pallet flying through the air, and it was going to smash into the ocean. Would you try to recover that? Yes, yes you would."<ref name=sn20210526/>
In March 2017, as part of the [[SES-10]] mission, SpaceX for the first time performed a controlled landing of the payload fairing and successfully recovered a fairing half, aided by [[Attitude control thruster|attitude-control thrusters]] and a [[steerable parachute]], helping it glide towards a gentle touchdown on water.<ref name=sn20170330/><ref name=verge20170330/> The company announced intent to land the fairings eventually on a dry flexible structure, jokingly described by Musk as a "floating bouncy-castle", with the aim of full fairing reuse.<ref name=floridatoday_26216836069515264/> With successive tests and refinements on several flights, intact fairing recovery was stated as an objective for 2017, with reflight of a recovered fairing planned in 2018.<ref name=issR&Dconf20170719-14:15/>
The "bouncy castle" meme was in fact a net strung between large arms of a fast [[platform supply vessel]] named ''[[Mr. Steven|Mr. Steven (now GO Ms. Tree)]]''. The recovery vessel is equipped with [[dynamic positioning]] systems, and was tested after the launch of the [[Paz (satellite)|Paz]] satellite from [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]] in 2017.<ref name=techcrunch20180220>{{cite news|last1=Etherington|first1=Darrell|title=SpaceX to use a net boat called 'Mr. Steven' to recover next rocket fairing|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/20/spacex-to-use-a-net-boat-called-mr-steven-to-recover-next-rocket-fairing/|access-date=February 20, 2018|work=TechCrunch|date=February 20, 2018|language=en|archive-date=February 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220133120/https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/20/spacex-to-use-a-net-boat-called-mr-steven-to-recover-next-rocket-fairing/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nsf-20180225">{{cite news|last1=Baylor|first1=Michael|title=SpaceX's Mr. Steven, the FSV fairing catcher – NASASpaceFlight.com|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacexs-mr-steven-fsv-fairing-catcher/|access-date=February 26, 2018|work=NASASpaceFlight.com|date=February 25, 2018|archive-date=February 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225204148/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacexs-mr-steven-fsv-fairing-catcher/|url-status=live}}</ref> This mission was also the first to use a version 2 fairing, explicitly designed to "improve survivability for post-launch recovery attempts, and to be reusable on future missions".<ref name="nsf-20180220">{{cite news|last1=Graham|first1=William|title=SpaceX Falcon 9 set for PAZ launch with Starlink demo and new fairing – NASASpaceFlight.com|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacex-falcon-9-paz-launch-starlink-demo-new-fairing/|access-date=February 21, 2018|work=NASASpaceFlight.com|date=February 20, 2018|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309232156/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacex-falcon-9-paz-launch-starlink-demo-new-fairing/|url-status=live}}</ref> This recovery attempt was not fully successful; the fairing missed the boat by a few hundred meters but landed intact in the water<ref>{{cite tweet |user=elonmusk |author-link=Elon Musk |number=966692641533390848 |date=22 Feb 2018 |title=Missed by a few hundred meters, but fairing landed intact in water. Should be able catch it with slightly bigger chutes to slow down descent. }}</ref> before being recovered and taken back to port.<ref name="nsf-20180225" /> {{asof|2018|08}}, all four attempts by SpaceX to land a fairing on a recovery ship had failed, despite fitting ''Mr. Steven'' with larger nets before the July 2018 attempt.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bartels |first1=Meghan |title=SpaceX Lands Rocket in Harshest Conditions to Date and Attempts to Catch Fairing |url=https://www.space.com/41273-spacex-launch-iridium-satellites-harsh-weather.html |website=Space.com |publisher=Purch |access-date=7 August 2018 |date=July 25, 2018 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126033435/https://www.space.com/41273-spacex-launch-iridium-satellites-harsh-weather.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wall |first1=Mike |title=SpaceX Gives Nose-Cone-Catching Boat 'Mr. Steven' a Bigger Net |url=https://www.space.com/41168-spacex-boat-mr-steven-bigger-net.html |website=Space.com |publisher=Purch |access-date=7 August 2018 |date=July 13, 2018 |archive-date=August 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808043400/https://www.space.com/41168-spacex-boat-mr-steven-bigger-net.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
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In April 2019, during the second Falcon Heavy mission, recovery boat ''Go Searcher'' fished the fairing halves out of the sea and it was announced the fairings would be used on a [[Starlink (satellite constellation)|Starlink]] mission.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wall|first1=Mike|title=SpaceX Recovered Falcon Heavy Nose Cone, Plans to Re-fly it This Year (Photos)|url=https://www.space.com/spacex-reuse-payload-fairing-starlink-launch.html|website=Space.com|publisher=Purch|access-date=16 April 2019|date=15 April 2019|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209040053/https://www.space.com/spacex-reuse-payload-fairing-starlink-launch.html|url-status=live}}</ref> These fairings were reused in a Starlink mission on 11 November 2019.<ref name=SL1>{{cite web|title=Successful launch continues deployment of SpaceX's Starlink network|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/11/11/successful-launch-continues-deployment-of-spacexs-starlink-network/|date=November 11, 2019|access-date=November 11, 2019|archive-date=November 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117160301/https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/11/11/successful-launch-continues-deployment-of-spacexs-starlink-network/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In June 2019, following the third Falcon Heavy launch, the first successful fairing catch was made. Images posted to Twitter hours after launch showed one half of the fairing
By late 2020, payload fairings were being regularly recovered by SpaceX, with SpaceX dispatching two custom-modified recovery ships—''[[Ms. Tree (ship)|Ms. Tree]]'' and ''[[Ms. Chief]]''—to collect the fairings on most launches from their Florida launch site. By this time, SpaceX was also regularly reflying recovered fairings on launches, usually on their own flights where [[Starlink]] satellites are the [[primary payload|primary]] or only payload. {{asof|2020|08}} however, successful net landings were not yet routine, with less than half of the fairings of the previous three months being caught in the nets, but most still recovered anyway after a soft landing in the ocean.
By April 2021, SpaceX had abandoned the experimental program to attempt recovery of dry payload fairings under [[parachute descent]] in a net on a [[platform supply vessel|fast ship]]. SpaceX decided to operationalize "wet recovery" of fairings on future Falcon 9 flights, having found that they can clean, refurbish, and reuse such fairings more economically.<ref name="ars20210409">{{cite news |last=Berger |first=Eric |date=9 April 2021 |title=Rocket Report: SpaceX abandons catching fairings |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/04/rocket-report-spacex-abandons-catching-fairings-ula-bets-on-upper-stages/ |
By 26 May 2021, SpaceX had launched 40 flights that reflew at least one previously-flown fairing half, and one fairing had flown on five different flights, having been recovered and cleaned four previous times.<ref name=sn20210526>{{cite news |title=SpaceX sets Falcon 9 fairing reuse mark with Starlink launch |url=https://spacenews.com/spacex-sets-falcon-9-fairing-reuse-mark-with-starlink-launch/ |work=[[SpaceNews]] |last=Foust|first=Jeff |date=26 May 2021 |access-date=28 May 2021}}</ref>
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=== Second-stage reuse ===
Despite early public statements that SpaceX would endeavor to make the Falcon 9 second-stage reusable as well, by late 2014, they determined that the mass needed for a re-entry heat shield, landing engines, and other equipment to support recovery of the second stage as well as the diversion of development resources from other company objectives was at that time prohibitive, and indefinitely suspended their second-stage reusability plans for the Falcon rockets.<ref name="ElonMuskMITInteview">{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y13jbl7ASxY&t=14m20s |title=Elon Musk MIT Interview |time=14:20 |first=C. Scott |last=Ananian |date=October 24, 2014 |access-date=July 16, 2017 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Borogove |first=Russell |date=31 July 2015 |title=reuse – How does SpaceX plan to achieve reusability of the Falcon 9 *second* stage? |url=https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10391/how-does-spacex-plan-to-achieve-reusability-of-the-falcon-9-second-stage |
{{cite news |last=Hanry |first=Caleb |date=2017-11-21 |title=SpaceX aims to follow a banner year with an even faster 2018 launch cadence |url=http://spacenews.com/spacex-aims-to-follow-a-banner-year-with-an-even-faster-2018-launch-cadence/ |access-date=2018-01-15 |work=[[SpaceNews]] |quote=Shotwell said SpaceX plans to attempt second stage recoveries from the existing Falcon family is less to reuse them, and more to learn about reusability in preparation for the BFR’s second stage.}}</ref> and in May 2018 provided additional details about how they might carry out some of that testing.<ref name="nsf20180517">{{cite news |last=Baylor |first=Michael |date=2018-05-17 |title=With Block 5, SpaceX to increase launch cadence and lower prices |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/block-5-spacex-increase-launch-cadence-lower-prices/ |
▲and in May 2018 provided additional details about how they might carry out some of that testing.<ref name=nsf20180517>{{cite news |last=Baylor |first=Michael |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/block-5-spacex-increase-launch-cadence-lower-prices/ |title=With Block 5, SpaceX to increase launch cadence and lower prices |work=[[NASASpaceFlight.com]] |date=2018-05-17 |access-date=2018-05-22 |quote=''Musk: "in the upcoming flights [SpaceX will] gather data about the reentry experience of the upper stage. Previously, we had not put a lot of effort into gathering data from the upper stage after it does its disposal burn. We will monitoring at what altitude and speed the stage breaks up…" Collecting this data is not easy. Musk explained that "it’s tricky because it comes in like a meteor. It’s sort of like a ball of plasma. You can only broadcast diagonally backwards, so we will be looking to communicate, probably [with] the Iridium constellation, and try to transmit basic data about temperature, basic health of the stage, velocity, and altitude."'' |archive-date=May 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518060725/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/block-5-spacex-increase-launch-cadence-lower-prices/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The Starship is planned to replace all existing SpaceX launch and space vehicles after the mid-2020s: [[Falcon 9]], [[Falcon Heavy]] and the [[Dragon spacecraft]], aimed initially at the Earth-orbit [[Space launch market competition|launch market]] but with capability to support [[Beyond Earth orbit|long-duration spaceflight]] in the [[cislunar]] and [[Exploration of Mars|Mars mission]] environments.<ref name=musk20170929>
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In the first year of successful stage return from the experimental test flights, SpaceX performed ''[[ad hoc]]'' and flight-specific evaluation and component testing on each successfully landed stage. Stages were processed and initially evaluated in either launch hangars, or for Cape Canaveral landings, in the new hangar SpaceX recently completed at [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39]]. Returned rocket parts have also been transported to [[SpaceX Hawthorne]] and [[SpaceX McGregor]] for engineering evaluation and testing.
In February 2017, after eight rocket cores had successfully
== Starship reusability development ==
{{Main|SpaceX Starship design history}}
The goal of the Starship launch system is to be a fully reusable orbital launch and reentry vehicle.<ref name=":242">{{Cite journal|last1=Inman|first1=Jennifer Ann|last2=Horvath|first2=Thomas J.|last3=Scott|first3=Carey Fulton|date=24 August 2021|title=SCIFLI Starship Reentry Observation (SSRO) ACO (SpaceX Starship)|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20210020835|url-status=live|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011134426/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20210020835|archive-date=11 October 2021|access-date=12 October 2021|website=[[NASA]]}}</ref> The Starship launch system consists of two stages: a Super Heavy booster and a Starship spacecraft;<ref name="20190928techcrunch-elon">{{cite news|last=Etherington|first=Darrell|date=29 September 2019|title=Elon Musk says Starship should reach orbit within six months – and could even fly with a crew next year|publisher=TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/28/elon-musk-says-starship-should-reach-orbit-within-six-months-and-it-could-even-fly-with-a-crew-next-year/|url-status=live|access-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924073050/https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/28/elon-musk-says-starship-should-reach-orbit-within-six-months-and-it-could-even-fly-with-a-crew-next-year/|archive-date=24 September 2021}}</ref> both have a body made from [[SAE 304 stainless steel|SAE 304L stainless steel]]<ref name=":72">{{Cite news|last=Howell|first=Elizabeth|date=21 August 2021|title=Every SpaceX Starship explosion and what Elon Musk and team learned from them (video)|language=en|website=[[Space.com]]|url=https://www.space.com/every-spacex-starship-explosion-lessons-learned|url-status=live|access-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903073445/https://www.space.com/every-spacex-starship-explosion-lessons-learned|archive-date=3 September 2021}}</ref> and are designed to hold [[liquid oxygen]] and [[liquid methane]]. Super Heavy and then Starship will boost the payload
=== Design history ===
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