SpaceX's Falcon is now officially the rocket with more consecutive flights in all of rocket launching history. Space rockets moved from experimental to serious endeavors after WWII. Then the U.S. and Russia competed to build rockets using the leverage of advancements made by German scientists like Wernher von Braun, known for his contribution to NASA and his blueprints for Mars rocket spaceships.
Some of the most historical and famous space rockets include the Russian Sputnik used to launch the first satellite, the Mercury rocket used to put the first Americans in space, the Titan II used in the Gemini Mission and the Saturn V rocket, which took humanity to the moon. But rockets have come a long way, especially in the past 10 years, with launches occurring almost every day.
According to 139 times and failed once in 2015 on a mission to reach the International Space Station cutting its streak to 111 launches. Russian rockets launching since the late 50s have more than 1,900 launches. But over 100 spread-out failures cut their continual success rates short of the new Falcon 9 record. Estimates say the Falcon could reach 500 flights in the next decade. But Elon Musk may have other plans.
The Falcon's Impressive Run Is Not The Future Of SpaceX
Today, NASA depends on the Falcon to resupply the ISS and deliver astronauts. SpaceX also depends on the Falcon 9 to launch commercial satellites, its own army of Starlink satellites, and U.S. military satellites, among other things. But SpaceX's long-term vision is to replace the Falcon 9 with a fleet of Starships. The Starship can take into orbit more than 150 tonnes, land, refuel, and do it again in just one flight. On the other hand, a Falcon 9 can only take about 25 tonnes to space. This not only cuts costs dramatically for SpaceX but is a game-changer for the space sector obsessed and limited by weight and size.
SpaceX does face one big obstacle blocking its ambition. The Starship's first flight launch tests ended with a bang, exploding the vehicle several times. Eventually, SpaceX made the Starship hop about 150 meters off the ground. Later they pulled off a successful high-altitude launch and landing. The orbital test is next in line for Starship, expected to happen early this year.
The spacecraft's major milestone will be delivering on the contract it has with NASA and landing humans on the moon. Recently, SpaceX diverted what Musk called possible "bankruptcy" as the company rushed to fix problems in the Raptor engines of the Starship. While the Falcon has had an impressive run and will continue to operate for many years, it is not the company's future. The Starship is the future of SpaceX. In the coming months and years, it will make-or-break SpaceX and Musk's visions.
Source: ArsTechnica