Transport & space · 2015
Reusable orbital rocket
A Falcon 9 first stage returns from an orbital launch and lands upright.
On 21 December 2015 a Falcon 9 booster landed at Cape Canaveral after launching 11 satellites; the first reflight followed in 2017. Reuse cut launch costs sharply, and single boosters have since flown more than 25 times. SpaceX now performs well over 100 launches a year.
What it built on 2
What it led to 12
- Starlink 2019
- Crew Dragon 2020
- Starship flight tests 2023
- New Glenn booster landing 2025
- First commercial furnace in orbit 2025
- Booster caught by a sea net 2026
- Zhuque-3 booster landing 2026
- Satellite broadband to every phone ~2029
- Permanent lunar base ~2035
- Orbital data centres ~2036
- Crewed Mars landing ~2038
- Space-based solar power ~2045
Watch
Related measurements
The dashed line marks when it first worked.
Objects launched into space Latest: 4.51k per year (2025) Source: Our World in Data
Payloads in low Earth orbit Latest: 14.5k objects (2025) Source: Our World in Data
Objects launched into space (cumulative) Latest: 24.9k objects (2025) Source: Our World in Data