Elon Musk’s SpaceX has shattered its previous annual record for orbital rocket launches, executing 96 successful missions in 2023 at an impressive average launch rate of every four days.
This year, SpaceX conducted 91 launches with its Falcon 9 rocket and an additional five with the Falcon Heavy, surpassing its former annual record of 61 orbital launches set in 2022.
To put this in perspective, SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 more times this year than it did throughout the entire first decade following the rocket’s introduction.
During 2023, SpaceX achieved several milestones, including landing its 250th orbital rocket booster and launching and landing a single rocket 19 times, further advancing its efforts to reuse rockets.
Additionally, this week, SpaceX set a new company record for the shortest time between orbital launches, just under three hours, marking the tightest interval between launches from Florida since NASA’s Gemini 11 mission in 1966.
It is important to note that this launch count for the year does not include SpaceX’s two Starship test flights, which did not carry commercial payloads intended for orbit.
Jon Edwards, SpaceX’s Vice President of Falcon Launch Vehicles, shared on social media that a few years ago, Musk proposed a goal of 100 launches as a speculative target.
“Here we are. I’m so incredibly proud to work with the best team on earth, and so excited to see what we achieve next year,” Edwards stated.
SpaceX officials have indicated that the company plans to conduct up to 144 Falcon missions in 2024, as it continues to deploy satellites for the Starlink system, a significant contributor to its $180 billion valuation.
