SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has flown about 700 times. Its successor still has to prove itself
A Falcon 9 booster landed after its 18th flight as SpaceX works toward replacing the frequently flown rocket with the still-experimental Starship.
SpaceX closes out October with 700th Falcon 9 launch to date
Happy Halloween! SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites to orbit from California
SpaceX is starting to move on from the world's most successful rocket
SpaceX launches its massive Starship rocket into orbit for first time
SpaceX - Launches
Another flight for a reusable workhorse
A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from California at 04:04 UTC on October 31 and delivered 27 Starlink internet satellites to orbit. Its first-stage booster, flying for the 18th time, returned to a ship in the Pacific about eight and a half minutes after launch; the satellites separated from the upper stage roughly 62 minutes after liftoff.spaceflightnow +1
The flight brings the Falcon 9’s total to about 700 launches since its 2010 debut. Spaceflight Now counts this mission, called Starlink 15-18, as the 700th. The milestone underscores the scale of a rocket that SpaceX intends eventually to replace with its much larger Starship.spaceflightnow +1
A launch rate built on reuse
Falcon 9’s first stage can be recovered and flown again, while its upper stage is expendable.space The latest booster, B1093, had previously carried a rideshare mission and other Starlink batches. Its 18 flights are substantial, though another SpaceX booster had reached 37 by August.spaceflightnow +1
The rocket flew 165 times in 2025, but SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said earlier this year that the company expected fewer Falcon launches in 2026 and a further taper as Starship comes online. More than 70% of the 118 Falcon 9 flights this year through the latest mission were for Starlink, according to Space.com.space +1
The replacement still has hurdles
Starship is designed to make both its booster and upper stage reusable. On September 28 it reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink satellites, but an engine went out and the spacecraft splashed down earlier than planned. That flight did not demonstrate the full system’s reusability or reliability.cnbc +1
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has tied winding down Falcon to Starship flying reliably several times a week, rather than a fixed transition date. For now, Falcon remains on the schedule: SpaceX lists another California Starlink launch for November 5.spacex +1