SpaceX has constructed and shipped its two hundredth Falcon second stage, highlighting the usually underappreciated rocket’s document of accomplishment on the bottom and in flight.
Roughly 13 years in the past, in late 2009 or early 2010, SpaceX shipped the primary flightworthy prototype of the primary iteration of its Falcon 9 second stage. In June 2010, Falcon 9 lifted off on its inaugural check flight and, with the assistance of that second stage, efficiently launched a boilerplate mockup of Dragon spacecraft into orbit. Since Falcon 9’s shocking inaugural success, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets have launched one other 187 instances for a complete of 188 launches and 189 assembled rockets. Each a kind of launches has required a brand new second stage, and all however one (Crew Dragon’s In-Flight Abort check) required a brand new Merlin Vacuum engine.
Whereas SpaceX is most well-known for the profitable realization of quickly reusable Falcon boosters, the corporate’s general success can also be inextricably linked to Falcon second levels, that are and at all times will probably be expended after each launch. For each spectacular Falcon booster touchdown or reuse document, a Falcon second stage both unceremoniously burns up in Earth’s environment or finds itself stranded in orbit. Consequently, at the same time as SpaceX’s reusability has allowed it to launch greater than ever earlier than with a fleet of simply 10-20 Falcon boosters, the corporate has needed to increase the manufacturing of Falcon second levels extraordinary ranges.
SpaceX simply accomplished its 188th Falcon 9/Heavy launch, so the two hundredth flightworthy second stage and Merlin Vacuum (MVac) engine are most likely scheduled to launch someday in January 2023. Within the final three hundred and sixty five days, SpaceX’s Falcon rockets have accomplished 59 profitable orbital launches. Each launch has required a brand new second stage, so SpaceX, on common, has constantly constructed, shipped, and examined a brand new Falcon second stage each 6.2 days for extra than a yr.
Due to SpaceX’s record-breaking 2022 launch cadence, which has resulted in Falcon 9 launching extra in a single calendar yr than every other rocket in historical past, the Falcon second stage has seemingly develop into the most-produced orbital rocket stage in a long time. Barring surprises, SpaceX is on monitor to realize CEO Elon Musk’s objective of 60 Falcon launches in 2022. However SpaceX isn’t achieved but, and CEO Elon Musk says that the corporate is concentrating on “as much as 100 launches” in 2023. After practically doubling between early and late 2021, that can require Falcon second stage manufacturing to extend one other ~67% year-over-year.
In its 12.5-year profession, Falcon 9 has suffered three failures. In October 2012, on its third launch, considered one of Falcon 9’s 9 Merlin 1C booster engines failed in flight. The principle mission – a Dragon cargo mission to the Worldwide House Station – was saved by the second stage, which autonomously compensated for the misplaced efficiency, however a secondary payload (Orbcomm’s first OG2 satellite tv for pc prototype) was misplaced because of this. In June 2015, a defective strut inside Falcon 9’s second stage brought on a helium strain vessel to interrupt unfastened and rupture, destroying the rocket mid-flight. And in September 2016, throughout a prelaunch static fireplace check, an analogous strain vessel inside an upgraded Falcon 9’s second stage spontaneously sparked, inflicting an explosion that destroyed the rocket whereas it was nonetheless on the bottom.
Consequently, whereas issues with Falcon second levels have technically brought on each of Falcon 9’s solely catastrophic failures, it’s nonetheless true {that a} free-flying Falcon second stage has by no means failed in flight. The identical is true for the second stage’s Merlin Vacuum engine: over a whole bunch of burns and greater than 70,000 seconds of operation, MVac has by no means failed in flight.
After Falcon 9’s profitable November third, 2022 launch of the Eutelsat Hotbird 13G communications satellite tv for pc, SpaceX’s Falcon rocket household has accomplished 160 launches with out failure, arguably making it probably the most dependable rocket household in historical past. To realize that feat with its partially-reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, SpaceX has needed to grasp reusable and expendable orbital rockets to a level that only some different firms or house businesses in historical past can declare to have matched or exceeded, and that none have achieved concurrently.
