SpaceX Sets New Record with 96 Successful Rocket Launches in 2023

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has achieved a new milestone by smashing its previous annual record for orbital rocket launches. In 2023, the company successfully completed 96 missions, averaging a launch every four days.

Breaking its Own Record

This year, SpaceX accomplished 91 launches with its Falcon 9 rocket and an additional five launches with the Falcon Heavy. This surpasses its previous annual record of 61 orbital launches in 2022. To put this achievement into perspective, SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 more times this year than it did in the entire first decade after the rocket’s debut.

Pushing the Boundaries of Reusability

Alongside its impressive launch count, SpaceX also reached other significant milestones. The company successfully landed its 250th orbital rocket booster and launched and landed a single rocket 19 times, demonstrating its commitment to reusing rockets. Additionally, SpaceX set a new company record for the shortest time between orbital launches, with a turnaround time of just under three hours. This feat represents the tightest time between Florida launches since NASA’s Gemini 11 mission in 1966.

Excluding Starship Test Flights

It’s important to note that SpaceX’s launch count for the year does not include its pair of Starship test flights, as these were not carrying commercial payloads bound for orbit.

Future Goals

Jon Edwards, SpaceX’s Vice President of Falcon launch vehicles, shared in a social media post that just a few years ago, Musk suggested a goal of 100 launches as a thought experiment. Now, SpaceX has achieved that goal and Edwards expressed his pride in working with the best team on earth. He also expressed excitement for what the company will accomplish in the coming year.

Looking ahead, SpaceX aims to launch up to 144 Falcon missions in 2024. This aligns with the company’s focus on deploying satellites for the Starlink system, which contributes significantly to its $180 billion valuation.