List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters

Left to right: Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, v1.2 "Full Thrust", Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy, and Falcon Heavy Block 5.

A Falcon 9 first-stage booster is a reusable rocket booster used on the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital launch vehicles manufactured by SpaceX. The manufacture of first-stage booster constitutes about 60% of the launch price of a single expended Falcon 9[1] (and three of them over 80% of the launch price of an expended Falcon Heavy), which led SpaceX to develop a program dedicated to recovery and reuse of these boosters. After multiple attempts, some as early as 2010, at controlling the re-entry of the first stage after its separation from the second stage, the first successful controlled landing of a first stage occurred on 22 December 2015, on the first flight of the Full Thrust version. Since then, Falcon 9 first-stage boosters have been landed and recovered 428 times out of 441 attempts, including synchronized recoveries of the side-boosters of most Falcon Heavy flights.

In total 46 recovered boosters have been refurbished and subsequently flown at least a second time, with a record of 26 launches and landings carried out by a single booster. SpaceX intentionally limited Block 3 and Block 4 boosters to flying only two missions each,[2][3] but the company indicated in 2018 that they expected the Block 5 versions to achieve at least ten flights, with only minor refurbishment between missions. The ten flight milestone was first achieved by Booster B1051 on the Starlink 27 mission in 2021.[4]

All boosters in Block 4 and earlier have been retired, expended, or lost. The last flight of a Block 4 booster was in June 2018. Since then all boosters in the active fleet are Block 5.

Booster names are a B followed by a four-digit number. The first Falcon 9 version, v1.0, had boosters B0001 to B0007. All following boosters were numbered sequentially starting at B1001, the number 1 standing for first-stage booster.

List of boosters

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v1.0 and v1.1

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SpaceX attempted parachute of the Falcon 9 v1.0 first stage on flights 1 and 2, however on both attempts the boosters disintegrated on re-entry, and the plans were abandoned in favor of propulsive landings. Boosters B0002 (Grasshopper) and B1002 (F9R Dev1) were modified to make short propulsive hops at test sites to demonstrate landing technologies, and were not used on orbital missions. Three boosters successfully made soft ocean touchdowns on orbital flights but were not recovered.

Full Thrust up to Block 4

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Falcon 9 Full Thrust (version 1.2 / Block 3) was the first version of the Falcon 9 to successfully land. Changes included a larger fuel tank, uprated engines and supercooled propellant and oxidizer to increase performance. Block 3 and Block 4 are found in this list while the active Block 5 is listed separately. Block 4 was a test version that included new hardware such as titanium grid fins later carried over to the current Block 5. Flights of all Falcon 9 rockets up to Block 4 were limited to 2 flights only, with a total of 14 second flights of these variants. The boosters were either retired or expended after that second launch.

Boosters B1023 and B1025 were originally Falcon 9 boosters which were converted to Falcon Heavy side boosters for the Falcon Heavy test flight.

Block 5

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There are three booster types: Falcon 9 (F9), Falcon Heavy core (FH core) boosters, and Falcon Heavy side (FH side) boosters. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy side boosters are reconfigurable to each other. A Falcon Heavy core booster is manufactured with structural supports for the side boosters and cannot be converted to a Falcon 9 booster or Falcon Heavy side booster.[citation needed] The interstage mounting hardware was changed after B1056. The newer interstage design features fewer pins holding the interstage on, reducing the amount of work needed to convert a Falcon 9 booster to a Falcon Heavy side booster.[82]

Block 5 is the latest iteration of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters. Changes include a stronger heat shield, upgraded engines, new carbon composite sections (landing legs, engine sections, raceways, RCS thrusters and interstage), retractable landing legs, titanium grid fins, and other additions that simplify refurbishment and allow for easier reusability.[citation needed]

Block 5 boosters were initially certified for 10 launches[83] which was increased to 15. A "deep-dive" examination has been performed on Falcon 9 B1058 and B1060 after their 15th flight,[84] and SpaceX certified Falcon 9 boosters for 20 missions. SpaceX has further increased the Falcon re-flight certification to 40 flights per booster, since 20 flights of some boosters are reached.[85][86]

B1058, first launched on 30 May 2020 (Crew Dragon Demo-2), was the only booster with NASA logos. On 11 September 2022, during a Starlink mission, it became the first to complete fourteen launches and landings to become the fleet leader. With another 5 Starlink missions, B1058 achieved 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19 launches and landings, the first to do so. B1062 had been the first to achieve 20th, 21st, 22nd & 23rd launches and landings of a booster. Guinness World Records holder B1067 is the current fleet leader after completing 24th, 25th and 26th launch & landings, the first to do so.[87] Amongst all B5 boosters, B1058 holds the record for most spacecraft (869) launched to orbit and while the record for most spacecraft mass launched to orbit by a single booster is held by B1062 (313,000 kg (690,000 lb)). B1063 is currently and of all time, the oldest surviving booster in the Falcon 9 fleet.

As of 4 March 2025, SpaceX has put into service a total of 46 new B5 boosters, of which 29 have been destroyed (20 have been expended, six have been lost due to failed landings, and three have been lost during recovery).

Destroyed, Expended or Lost

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Presumed active

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