List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters

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 for a significant decrease in launch costs.^{[citation needed]} 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 353 times out of 365 attempts, including synchronized recoveries of the side-boosters of most Falcon Heavy flights.

In total 43 recovered boosters have been refurbished and subsequently flown at least a second time, with a record of 23 missions and landings carried 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 ten flights, each with only minor refurbishment. This milestone was first achieved by Booster B1051 on the Starlink-27 mission in 2021.^[4] The limit has been extended several times, and individual boosters have flown as many as 23 flights.

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.

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.

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 like 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.

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.

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 is the current fleet leader, having achieved the first 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd flight of a booster while being closely matched by B1061.^[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)). B1061 is currently the oldest surviving booster in the Falcon 9 fleet.

As of 6 September 2024^[update], SpaceX has put into service a total of 42 new B5 boosters, of which 23 have been destroyed (15 have been expended, six have been lost due to failed landings, and two have been lost during recovery).^[45]

Rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 389 times over 14 years, resulting in 386 full successes (99.23%), two in-flight failures (SpaceX CRS-7 and Starlink Group 9-3), and one partial success (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). Additionally, one rocket and its payload (AMOS-6) were destroyed before launch in preparation for an on-pad static fire test. The active version of the rocket, the Falcon 9 Block 5, has flown 321 times successfully.

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.^[232] 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.^[a][233]

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 2015. The most recent version, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018.^[234] With each iteration, the Falcon 9 has become more powerful and capable of vertical landing. As vertical landings became more commonplace, SpaceX focused on streamlining the refurbishment process for boosters, making it faster and more cost-effective.^[4]

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.^[235]

Falcon 9 first-stage boosters landed successfully in 353 of 365 attempts (96.7%), with 328 out of 333 (98.5%) for the Falcon 9 Block 5 version. A total of 324 re-flights of first stage boosters have all successfully launched their payloads.