Is Falcon 9 reusable?

Yes — Falcon 9's first stage (the booster) is reusable. It separates after the initial climb, flips around, and lands either on a ground pad or an autonomous droneship at sea, where it is recovered, refurbished and flown again. The second stage is not recovered.

How much can Falcon 9 lift?

In its reusable configuration Falcon 9 can deliver around 17 tonnes to low Earth orbit; fully expended (no booster recovery) it can lift roughly 22.8 tonnes to LEO and about 8.3 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit.

How many times can a Falcon 9 booster fly?

Block 5 boosters were originally certified for around 10 flights, but SpaceX has repeatedly extended that life — several boosters have flown more than 20 times, with ongoing inspections between flights.

What engines does Falcon 9 use?

Nine SpaceX Merlin 1D engines power the first stage; a single vacuum-optimised Merlin 1D powers the second stage. All burn RP-1 (refined kerosene) and liquid oxygen.

Does Falcon 9 launch astronauts?

Yes. Falcon 9 launches the Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA and private missions, first doing so on the Demo-2 flight in May 2020.

Rockets

Orbital launch vehicle · SpaceX

Falcon 9

A two-stage, partially-reusable orbital rocket and the backbone of SpaceX's launch business.

OperationalSpaceX

588

Total launches

99.8%

Success rate

587

Successful

Failures

290

Consecutive successes

Overview

About Falcon 9

Falcon 9 is a two-stage orbital launch vehicle designed and operated by SpaceX. Its defining feature is a first stage that returns to a landing — on a ground pad or an autonomous droneship at sea — to be refurbished and flown again, a capability that has driven the cost of access to orbit down sharply and made SpaceX the highest-cadence launch provider in the world.

Powered by nine Merlin engines on the first stage and a single vacuum-optimised Merlin on the second, Falcon 9 lofts Starlink satellites, commercial and government payloads, cargo Dragon and crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station. The current Block 5 configuration is rated for many reflights per booster, with individual first stages having flown well into the twenties.

Evolution

Version history

v1.0
2010–2013
The original Falcon 9 with Merlin 1C engines in a square 'tic-tac-toe' arrangement. Five flights, all expendable.
v1.1
2013–2016
Stretched tanks, upgraded Merlin 1D engines in the octaweb layout, and the first landing-leg recovery attempts.
Full Thrust (v1.2)
2015–2018
Densified, sub-cooled propellant for more performance. Achieved the first successful first-stage landings, on land and at sea.
Block 5
2018–present
The final, most-reused configuration — designed for rapid, repeated reflight with minimal refurbishment. The only version still flying.

Cadence

Flight history

Busiest year

2025 · 165

Last 12 months

161

Total flown

645

Most recent

May 30, 2026

132

165

'10

'12

'14

'16

'18

'20

'22

'24

'26

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Specifications

Height: 70 m
Diameter: 3.7 m
Launch mass: 549 kg
Payload to: 22,800 kg
Payload to: 8,300 kg
Thrust at liftoff: 7,607 kN
Cost per launch: $52M
Reusable: Yes

To scale

Vehicle profile

Milestones

Key dates

First flight: Jun 4, 2010
First droneship landing: Apr 8, 2016
First reflight of a booster: Mar 30, 2017
First crewed flight (Demo-2): May 30, 2020

Learn more

Official links

Falcon 9 launches

Every upcoming and past Falcon 9 launch — live countdowns, mission details and launch history.

Upcoming Launches

Starlink Group 10-43

Jun 3, 2026, 8:02 AM

SpaceX

Falcon 9 Block 5

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Falcon 9

Flight record

About Falcon 9

Version history

v1.0

v1.1

Full Thrust (v1.2)

Block 5

Flight history

Frequently asked questions

Is Falcon 9 reusable?

How much can Falcon 9 lift?

How many times can a Falcon 9 booster fly?

What engines does Falcon 9 use?

Does Falcon 9 launch astronauts?

Specifications

Vehicle profile

Key dates

Official links

Upcoming Launches

Starlink Group 10-43

Starlink Group 17-47

Starlink Group 10-35

Starlink Group 17-44

SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer D

SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer E

SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer E

SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer C

SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer F

SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A

SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer A

Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (x 9)

Previous Launches

Starlink Group 17-41

Starlink Group 10-53

Starlink Group 17-37

Starlink Group 10-47

Starlink Group 10-31

Starlink Group 17-42

Dragon CRS-2 SpX-34

NROL-172

Starlink Group 17-29

CAS500-2 & Others

Starlink Group 10-38

Starlink Group 17-36

More rockets

Falcon Heavy

Starship

Falcon 1