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List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches

List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches rather than just read about it. In short: As of August 26, 2026, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 695 times, with 692 full mission successes, two mission failures during launch, one mission failure before launch, and one partial failure. Designed and operated by SpaceX, the Falcon 9 family includes the retired versions Falcon 9 v1.0, launched five times from June 2010 to March 2013; Falcon 9 v1.1, launched 15 times from September 2013 to…

List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches — main illustration
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches — illustration

Key takeaways

  • List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

As of August 26, 2026, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 695 times, with 692 full mission successes, two mission failures during launch, one mission failure before launch, and one partial failure. Designed and operated by SpaceX, the Falcon 9 family includes the retired versions Falcon 9 v1.0, launched five times from June 2010 to March 2013; Falcon 9 v1.1, launched 15 times from September 2013 to January 2016; and Falcon 9 v1.2 "Full Thrust" (blocks 3 and 4), launched 36 times from December 2015 to June 2018. The active "Full Thrust" variant Falcon 9 Block 5 has launched 627 times since May 2018. Falcon Heavy, a heavy-lift derivative of Falcon 9, combining a strengthened central core with two Falcon 9 first stages as side boosters has launched 12 times since February 2018.

The Falcon design features reusable first-stage boosters, which land either on a ground pad near the launch site or on a drone ship at sea. In December 2015, Falcon 9 became the first rocket to land propulsively after delivering a payload into orbit. This reusability results in significantly reduced launch costs, as the cost of the first stage constitutes the majority of the cost of a new rocket. Falcon family boosters have successfully landed 652 times in 665 attempts. A total of 55 boosters have flown multiple missions, with a record of 37 missions by a booster, B1067. SpaceX has also reflown fairing halves more than 300 times, with SN155 (40 times; the most reflown rocket stage to space) and SN168 (38 times) being the most reflown active and passive fairing halves respectively. Typical missions include launches of SpaceX's Starlink satellites (accounting for a majority of the Falcon manifest since January 2020), Dragon crew and cargo missions to the International Space Station, and launches of commercial and military satellites to LEO, polar, and geosynchronous orbits. The heaviest payload launched on Falcon is a batch of 24 Starlink V2-Mini satellites weighing about 17,500 kg (38,600 lb) total, first flown in February 2024, landing on JRTI. The heaviest payload launched to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) was the 9,200 kg (20,300 lb) Jupiter-3 on July 29, 2023. Launches to higher orbits have included DSCOVR and IMAP to Sun–Earth Lagrange point L1, TESS to a lunar flyby, a Tesla Roadster demonstration payload to a heliocentric orbit extending past the orbit of Mars, DART and Hera to the asteroid Didymos, Euclid to Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, Psyche to the asteroid 16 Psyche, and Europa Clipper to Europa (a moon of Jupiter).

Launch statistics Rockets from the Falcon 9 family have a success rate of 99.57% and have been launched 695 times over 16 years, resulting in 692 full successes, two in-flight failures (SpaceX CRS-7 and Starlink Group 9–3), one pre-flight failure (AMOS-6 while being prepared for an on-pad static fire test), and one partial failure (SpaceX CRS-1, which delivered its cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), but a secondary payload was stranded in a lower-than-planned orbit). The active version of the rocket, the Falcon 9 Block 5, has flown 626 times successfully and failed once (Starlink Group 9–3), resulting in a 99.84% success rate. In 2022, the Falcon 9 set a new record with 60 successful launches by the same launch vehicle type in a calendar year. This surpassed the previous record held by Soyuz-U, which had 47 launches (45 successful) in 1979. In 2023, the Falcon family of rockets (including the Falcon Heavy) had 96 successful launches, surpassing the 63 launches (61 successful) of the R-7 rocket family in 1980. In 2024, SpaceX broke their own record with 134 total Falcon flights (133 successful) accounting for over half of all orbital launches that year. The Falcon 9 has evolved through several versions: v1.0 was launched five times from 2010 to 2013, v1.1 launched 15 times from 2013 to 2016, Full Thrust launched 36 times from 2015 to 2018. The most recent version, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018. With each iteration, the Falcon 9 boosters have become more powerful and capable of vertical landing, while fairings simultaneously performing water landing, before being scouped out of water. As vertical landings and fairing recovery operations became more commonplace, SpaceX focused on streamlining the refurbishment process for boosters and fairings, making it faster and more cost-effective. The Falcon Heavy derivative is a heavy-lift launch vehicle composed of three Falcon 9 first-stage boosters. The central core is reinforced, while the side boosters feature aerodynamic nosecone instead of the usual interstage. Falcon 9 first-stage boosters landed successfully in 652 of 665 attempts (98.05%), with 627 out of 633 (99.05%) for the Falcon 9 Block 5 version. A total of 623 re-flights of first stage boosters have all successfully launched their second stages and, all but one, their payloads.

Past launches

2010 to 2019

From June 2010, to the end of 2019, Falcon 9 was launched 77 times, with 75 full mission successes, one partial failure and one total loss of the spacecraft. In addition, one rocket and its payload were destroyed on the launch pad during the fueling process before a static fire test was set to occur. Falcon Heavy was launched three times, all successful. The first Falcon 9 version, Falcon 9 v1.0, was launched five times from June 2010, to March 2013, its successor Falcon 9 v1.1 15 times from September 2013, to January 2016, and the Falcon 9 Full Thrust (through Block 4) 36 times from December 2015, to June 2018. The latest Full Thrust variant, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018, and launched 21 times before the end of 2019.

2020 to 2022

From January 2020, to the end of 2022, Falcon 9 was launched 117 times, all successful, and landed boosters successfully on 111 of 114 attempts. Falcon Heavy was launched once and was successful, including landing of the mission's two side boosters.

2023

SpaceX conducted 96 Falcon family vehicle launches (91 Falcon 9 and 5 Falcon Heavy) in 2023. It surpassed both the company's own single-year launch record of 61 and the global annual record of 64 launches, coming close to its previously announced goal of 100 Falcon launches in the year. The company's payload delivery capacity also rose, with approximately 1,200 tonnes (2,600,000 lb) sent to orbit.

2024

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Illustrations

List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches: Left to right: Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, v1.2 "Full Thrust", Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy, and Falcon Heavy Block 5.
Left to right: Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, v1.2 "Full Thrust", Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy, and Falcon Heavy Block 5.
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches: Falcon 9 at Dish Network's Littleton, Colorado office.
Falcon 9 at Dish Network's Littleton, Colorado office.
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches: Dragon CRS-1 berthed to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 14, 2012, photographed from the Cupola.
Dragon CRS-1 berthed to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 14, 2012, photographed from the Cupola.
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches: SpaceX CRS-7 disintegrating two minutes after liftoff, as seen from a NASA tracking camera.
SpaceX CRS-7 disintegrating two minutes after liftoff, as seen from a NASA tracking camera.
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches: Falcon 9 Flight 20 historic first-stage landing at CCSFS Landing Zone 1, December 22, 2015
Falcon 9 Flight 20 historic first-stage landing at CCSFS Landing Zone 1, December 22, 2015

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches

In research
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Lists of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches in simple terms?

As of August 26, 2026, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 695 times, with 692 full mission successes, two mission failures during launch, one mission failure before launch, and one partial failure. Designed and operated by SpaceX, the Falcon 9 family includes the retired versions F…

Why does List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.

Tags

  • Falcon 9
  • Falcon Heavy
  • Lists of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches
  • Lists of rocket launches
  • SpaceX launch vehicles
  • SpaceX related lists
  • Starlink

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