Falcon 9 booster B1058
United States
B1058 in SpaceX processing facility
Role First stage of orbital class rocket
National origin United States
Type Falcon 9 first stage booster
Manufacturer SpaceX
Construction number B1058
First flight 30 May 2020 (Demo-2)
Last flight 23 December 2023 (Starlink 6–32)
Flights 19
Status Destroyed after tipping over the droneship during recovery due to high winds and waves

Falcon 9 booster B1058 was a reusable Falcon 9 Block 5 first-stage booster manufactured by SpaceX. B1058 was the first Falcon 9 booster to fly fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen times and broke a turnaround record on its later flights. Its first flight was for Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed orbital spaceflight by a private company. The booster was the first and only Falcon 9 booster to feature NASA's worm logo and meatball insignia, which was reintroduced after last being used in 1992.[1] The booster's service ended shortly after its nineteenth successful landing when it toppled over on the droneship[2] due to high winds and rough seas.

During its operations, B1058 had an average turnaround time of 72 days with a record turnaround of 27 days and 8 hours.[3] For its 19 flights, it currently holds the Guinness World Record of most missions flown by a rocket first stage.[4]

Flight history

First flight

B1058 entered service on May 30, 2020 launching Demo-2 from LC-39A to the International Space Station with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. It was the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission, and the first crewed flight test of Dragon 2. This was the first time US astronauts launched using a privately-owned rocked and the first US crewed mission to the ISS in 9 years. B1058 landed aboard the autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You approximately eight and a half minutes after launch.[5]

Falcon 9 B1058 and Dragon rolling out to the launch pad, bearing the NASA "worm" logo

Second flight

On July 20, 2020, B1058 launched again with the ANASIS-II payload, a military satellite for South Korea. This booster launched at SLC-40 towards a GTO orbit and landed successfully at the Just Read the Instructions droneship.[6] Both fairing halves were recovered for the first time, and B1058 set a new turnaround record which was just 51 days.

Third flight

B1058 made its third flight from LC-39A on October 6, 2020 carrying 60 Starlink satellites to Low Earth orbit. This was B1058's first mission for Starlink. About eight minutes after launch, B1058 landed on Of Course I Still Love You – completing its mission. Also, by completing this launch, B1058 had achieved the shortest time it had reached 3 flights, clocking in at 129 days, beating B1046 by 77 days.[7]

Fourth flight

B1058 carried SpaceX CRS-21 and the first cargo Dragon 2 from LC-39A to the International Space Station. The old SpaceX Dragon 1 needed the Canadarm 2 to help berth it to a US-derived module, but B1058 was flying the independent version of Dragon, which means that it could dock without the use of a robotic arm. B1058 completed a partial boost-back burn towards the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship, 8 minutes after launch.

Fifth flight

SpaceX announced that it would begin launching small satellites using its smallsat rideshare program, Transporter. B1058 was the first to service this type of mission targeting a 525 km (326 mi) altitude Sun-synchronous orbit.[8] The launch deployed a record 143 satellites, consisting of 120 CubeSats, 11 microsatellites, 10 Starlinks, and 2 transfer stages. In addition, 2 hosted payloads and 1 non-separating dummy satellite[9] were launched.[10] By this launch, SpaceX broke the record held by India, which launched 104 satellites in 2017.[11] These include SpaceBEE (x 36), Lemur-2 (x 8), ICEYE (x 3), UVSQ-SAT,[12] ELaNa 35 (PTD-1),[13] and Kepler nanosats (x 8).[14][15] D-Orbit ION Satellite Carrier and 10 Starlink satellites made for testing optical laser inter-satellite links placed in a polar orbit[16] and 2 of 15 payloads remained attached to SHERPA-FX1. Exolaunch deployed several small satellites and cubesats via their own deployment mechanisms. First flight of a Falcon 9 with a SHERPA-FX transfer stage called SHERPA-FX1.[17][18] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the OCISLY droneship.

Sixth flight

B1058 launched the twentieth operational launch of Starlink satellites, again 60 in number, bringing the total to 1,265 (including prototypes) launched Starlink satellites.[19] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the JRTI droneship.

Seventh flight

B1058 launched the 23rd operational launch of Starlink satellites, bringing the total to 1,385 launched Starlink satellites (including prototype). This launch featured the fastest for B1058 and second fastest overall booster turnaround time at 27 days and 8 hours (after Starlink 18 with B1060.5, which was 4 hours faster).[20] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the OCISLY droneship.

Eighth flight

Rideshare launch with a targeted orbit at 569x582, significantly higher than typical Starlink launches, to allow for needs of the rideshare payloads.[21] Fairing "wet recovery" done by contracted recovery vessel Shelia Bordelon for the last time. B1058 launched from LC-39A and landed successfully on the OCISLY droneship.

Ninth flight

First East Coast Starlink launch after the v1.0 L28 launch which completed the first shell of the Starlink network located at 540 km altitude. Fairing "wet recovery" was attempted by SpaceX multipurpose ship, Bob for the first time, and both fairing halves were retrieved from water.[22][23] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the JRTI droneship.

Tenth flight

B1058 landing back at LZ-1 during its 10th mission

B1058 launched the third dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to Sun-synchronous orbit. A total of 105 payloads including: Planet Labs SuperDoves (×44),[24] and some of the customer payloads on SpaceFlight's SXRS-6 mission.[25] In addition, four secret satellites, likely test satellites built by SpaceX based on the Starshield bus (based on Starlink Block v1.5 or v2.0 technology),[26] were also deployed for the US army. Their purpose has not been revealed, but is likely either technical demonstration, communications, earth observation or signals intelligence.[27] In 2020, SpaceX had won a US$149 million contract for developing and launching missile tracking satellites based on the Starlink architecture.[28] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on SpaceX Landing Zone 1.

Eleventh flight

The eleventh mission of B1058 was the first Group 4 mission to feature 2 upper stage burns like v1.0 Starlink launches, with deployment of the 46 satellites approximately 1 hour after lift-off into a higher circular orbit. This is aimed at reducing the risk of high drag that caused 38 of the Group 4–7 satellites to fail reaching their intended orbits, and instead, reenter shortly after launch.[29] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship.

Twelfth flight

A regular East Coast Starlink network launch to a 540 km circular orbit at an inclination of 53.2°.[30] B1058 launched from LC-39A and landed successfully on the ASOG droneship.

Thirteenth flight

A regular East Coast Starlink network launch to a 540 km circular orbit at an inclination of 53.2°.[31] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the JRTI droneship.

Fourteenth flight

B1058 launched a regular East Coast Starlink network launch to a 540 km circular orbit at an inclination of 53.2°. Bluewalker-3 is a rideshare[32] mission launched to 513 km altitude 53° inclination.[33] In addition to this, the 2nd stage first executed two burns to deploy the Bluewalker 3, followed by executing two more burns to deploy the Starlinks to a 330 km altitude 53.2° inclination orbit, concluding with deorbit burn, which made it one of the most complex F9 missions up to date.[34] On 11 September 2022, it flew for the 14th time and became the first booster to be recovered 14 times.[35] B1058 launched from LC-39A and landed successfully on the ASOG droneship.

Fifteenth flight

On another record breaking 15th flight for the first time for SpaceX, B1058 launched a regular East Coast Starlink network launch to a 540 km circular orbit at an inclination of 53.2°.[36][37] B1058 launched from LC-39A and landed successfully on the JRTI droneship.

Certification for further flights

Until then, Block 5 boosters were only certified for 15 launches.[38] A "deep-dive" examination has been performed on B1058 and B1060 after their 15th flight,[39] and SpaceX certified Falcon 9 boosters for 20 missions.

Sixteenth flight

On 10 July 2023, B1058 launched a regular East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. B1058 was the first booster to launch and land 16 times, pushing the envelope and surpassing its previous record, which was 15 flights.[40] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the JRTI droneship.

Seventeenth flight

B1058 launched another East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. SpaceX set a new record using the same booster for the 17th time.[41] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the ASOG droneship.

Eighteenth flight

B1058 launched another East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. SpaceX set a new record using the same booster for the 18th time.[42] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the ASOG droneship.

Nineteenth and final flight

B1058 launched another East Coast v2 mini Starlink launch to their Generation 2 network. SpaceX set a new record using the same booster for the 19th time. It was the last flight of B1058.[43] B1058 launched from SLC-40 and landed successfully on the JRTI droneship.

Demise

Despite successfully landing after its nineteenth flight, B1058 tipped over during transit due to rough seas and high winds. SpaceX has already equipped newer Falcon boosters with upgraded landing legs that have the capability to self-level and mitigate this type of issue.[44]

This was the second instance of a booster toppling over during transit due to weather. The first time that this occurred was in April 2019, when Falcon Heavy core booster B1055 suffered the same fate.[45]

SpaceX intend to salvage the engines and inspect them to learn about how they were affected by flying nineteen times, which may produce learnings for the rest of the Falcon 9 fleet. Doug Hurley suggested that the remnants of the booster (as well as the Endeavour capsule, after its retirement) would be suitable for museum display as a historically significant artifact in the history of crewed spaceflight.[46]

Launches

Flight # Launch date (UTC) Mission # Payload Pictures Launch pad Landing location Notes
1 May 30, 2020 85 Dragon C206 Endeavour (Demo-2)[47] LC-39A Of Course I Still Love You Carried astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station. First fight of the Dragon 2 crew capsule and this booster.
2 July 20, 2020 89 ANASIS-II SLC-40 Just Read the Instructions A military satellite for South Korea. Also the first time that both recovery ships catched the fairing and a new turnaround record for B1058.
3 October 6, 2020 94 Starlink × 60 (v1.0 L12) LC-39A Of Course I Still Love You First Starlink mission for B1058. B1058 held a new record for the shortest time a booster reached 3 flights which was 129 days, 77 days less than B1046.
4 December 6, 2020 101 Dragon C208 (CRS-21) CC-40 Of Course I Still Love You First mission of the cargo Dragon 2 capsule. Carried Nanoracks Bishop Airlock to the International Space Station. 100th successful launch of a Falcon 9.[48]
5 January 24, 2021 106 Transporter-1 CC-40 Of Course I Still Love You Dedicated 143 satellites rideshare mission.
6 March 11, 2021 110 Starlink × 60 (v1.0 L20) CC-40 Just Read The Instructions Starlink mission.
7 April 7, 2021 113 Starlink × 60 (v1.0 L23) CC-40 Of Course I Still Love You Starlink mission. This launch featured the fastest for B1058 and second fastest overall booster turnaround time at 27 days and 8 hours (after Starlink 18 with B1060.5, which was 4 hours faster).[49]
8 May 15, 2021 118 Starlink × 60 (v1.0 L26) LC-39A Of Course I Still Love You Starlink mission.
9 November 13, 2021 128 Starlink × 53 (Group 4-1) CC-40 Just Read The Instructions Starlink mission.
10 January 13, 2022 136 Transporter-3 CC-40 SpaceX Landing Zone 1 Dedicated 143 satellites rideshare mission. First ground pad landing of this booster.
11 February 21, 2022 141 Starlink x 46 (Group 4–8) CC-40 A Shortfall of Gravitas Starlink Mission.
12 May 6, 2022 152 Starlink x 53 (Group 4–17) LC-39A A Shortfall of Gravitas Starlink mission.
13 July 7, 2022 162 Starlink x 53 (Group 4–21)[50] CC-40 Just Read The Instructions Starlink mission.
14 September 11, 2022 175 Starlink x 34 (Group 4-2) + BlueWalker 3[51] LC-39A A Shortfall of Gravitas Starlink mission with BlueWalker as rideshare. First booster with 14 flights.
15 December 17, 2022 192 Starlink x 54 (Group 4–37)[52] LC-39A Just Read The Instructions Starlink mission. First booster with 15 flights.
16 July 10, 2023 238 Starlink v2 x 22 (Group 6-5) CC-40 Just Read The Instructions Starlink mission. First booster with 16 flights.
17 September 20, 2023 257 Starlink v2 × 22 (Group 6–17) CC-40 A Shortfall of Gravitas Starlink mission. First booster with 17 flights.
18 November 4, 2023 269 Starlink v2 × 22 (Group 6–27) CC-40 A Shortfall of Gravitas Starlink mission. First booster with 18 flights.
19 December 23, 2023 283 Starlink v2 × 23 (Group 6–32) CC-40 Just Read The Instructions[lower-alpha 1] Starlink mission. First booster with 19 flights. Destroyed after tipping over the droneship during recovery due to high winds and waves

References

  1. ↑ Despite making a successful landing, de-tanking and heading back home, the stage fell over on the drone ship platform during transit back to Cape Canaveral in rough seas, high winds and waves. This is still considered a successful landing as the stage damage occurred while in transport.[53]
  1. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (8 April 2020). "NASA's "Worm" logo Will Return to Space – The new old logo, dropped in the 1990s in favor of a more vintage brand, will adorn a SpaceX rocket that is to carry astronauts to the space station in May". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Farewell to the "Old Guard": Bob & Doug's Booster Lost at Sea – AmericaSpace". www.americaspace.com. 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  3. ↑ "B1058 Manifest". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  4. ↑ "Most missions flown by a rocket first stage (not updated since then but B1058 is leader with 19 flights)". 2023-01-03.
  5. ↑ NASA. "American Rockets, American Spacecraft, American Soil" (PDF). elonx.net. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  6. ↑ SpaceX. "ANASIS-II Press Kit" (PDF). spacex.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  7. ↑ SpaceX. "Starlink L12 Press Kit" (PDF). spacex.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Rideshare program". 14 July 2020. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020.
  9. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan [@planet4589] (January 23, 2021). "@LaunchPhoto @Nanoracks @SpireGlobal Middle ring port 3 is EXOLAUNCH EXOPORT-2 with the dummy sat at left, the third ICEYE at right, and two black cubesat deployers with 24 SpaceBEEs, AI Charlie, PIXL 1 and SOMP2b (photo @LaunchPhoto) https://t.co/7yyS9Czgvl" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ SpaceX [@SpaceX] (January 22, 2021). "Falcon 9 and 143 spacecraft are vertical on pad 40 ahead of tomorrow's launch of the Transporter-1 mission, the first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare Program mission; SpaceX's 42-minute launch window opens at 9:40 a.m. and weather is 60% favorable → https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK https://t.co/BFEnf8uru9" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021 – via Twitter.
  11. ↑ "SpaceX creates new world record; launches 143 satellites on single rocket | DD News". ddnews.gov.in. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  12. ↑ Meftah, Mustapha; et al. (2019). "UVSQ-SAT, a Pathfinder CubeSat Mission for Observing Essential Climate Variables". Remote Sensing. 12 (1): 92. Bibcode:2019RemS...12...92M. doi:10.3390/rs12010092. hdl:10356/146243.
  13. ↑ "Upcoming ELaNa CubeSat Launches". NASA. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  14. ↑ "SpaceX Transporter-1 rideshare mission with Canadian satellites onboard slips to mid-January (Updated)". 17 November 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  15. ↑ "Kepler Communications". kepler.space. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  16. ↑ "SpaceX launches starlink with smallsat rideshare mission 1". 8 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  17. ↑ Jodi Sorensen (July 15, 2020). "Spaceflight Inc. unveiled next-gen orbital transfer vehicle to fly aboard latest SpaceX rideshare mission". Spaceflight.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Transporter-1 | Falcon 9 Block 5". 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021. "For the first time Falcon 9 flew with a third stage on the Transporter-1 mission".
  19. ↑ Clark, Stephen (11 March 2021). "SpaceX adds more satellites to Starlink internet fleet". spaceflightnow.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  20. ↑ Kanayama, Lee (7 April 2021). "SpaceX launches Starlink v1.0 L23 mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "SpaceX launches Starlink rideshare mission as constellation deployment milestone nears". NASASpaceFlight.com. 15 May 2021. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "NASASpaceFlight.com Fleetcam image". 18 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  23. ↑ "Fairing Recovery List". SpaceXFleet.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  24. ↑ Duffy, Ryan (13 January 2022). "Goldman Initiates Coverage of Planet". payloadspace.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  25. ↑ Duffy, Ryan (9 November 2021). "Spaceflight Debuts Sherpa Tug, which will Head to Orbit Soon with SpaceX". payloadspace.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  26. ↑ "USA 320, ..., 323, 328, ..., 331". Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  27. ↑ "USA 320, ..., 323, 328, ..., 331". Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  28. ↑ "Musk's SpaceX wins Pentagon award for missile tracking satellites". Reuters. 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  29. ↑ "Upcoming Launch: Starlink Mission". Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  30. ↑ "SpaceX launches morning Starlink mission from Kennedy Space Center". NASASpaceFlight.com. 6 May 2022.
  31. ↑ "Starlink Group 4–21". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  32. ↑ Rainbow, Jason (17 May 2022). "Operational AST SpaceMobile satellites could proceed without prototype". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "SpaceX launches fleet-leading booster on 14th flight". 10 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  34. ↑ "SpaceX Starlink Mission". SpaceX. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  35. ↑ Wall, Mike (10 September 2022). "Watch SpaceX launch the huge BlueWalker 3 satellite, Starlink fleet on rocket's record-setting 14th flight tonight". Space.com.
  36. ↑ "OET Special Temporary Authority Report". apps.fcc.gov. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  37. ↑ Wall, Mike (17 December 2022). "SpaceX rocket launches on record-setting 15th mission, lands on ship at sea (video)". Space.com.
  38. ↑ @jeff_foust (March 15, 2023). "Ochinero: F9 booster is capable of "way more" than 10 flights each; up to 15 now, but will see based on market conditions if we want to take effort to increase certification to 20 flights" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  39. ↑ Axiom Mission 2 Flight Readiness Review. 15 May 2023.
  40. ↑ Wall, Mike (10 July 2023). "SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches for record-breaking 16th time, lands on ship at sea". Space.com.
  41. ↑ Sesnic, Trevor (2023-09-18). "Launch Roundup: Rocket Lab fails during "We Will Never Desert You" launch; SpaceX to launch booster for 17th time". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  42. ↑ "SpaceX launches Falcon 9 booster from Cape Canaveral on recording-breaking 18th flight". Spaceflight Now. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  43. ↑ "SpaceX launches Falcon 9 first-stage booster on record-breaking 19th flight". Spaceflight Now. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  44. ↑ @SpaceX (December 26, 2023). "During transport back to Port early this morning, the booster tipped over on the droneship due to high winds and waves. Newer Falcon boosters have upgraded landing legs with the capability to self-level and mitigate this type of issue" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  45. ↑ Grush, Loren (15 April 2019). "SpaceX loses the center core of its Falcon Heavy rocket due to choppy seas". The Verge. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  46. ↑ Clark, Stephen (3 January 2024). "A commander's lament on the loss of a historic SpaceX rocket". Ars Technica.
  47. ↑ Wall, Mike (29 October 2019). "Elon Musk: SpaceX to Launch Vital Crew Dragon Escape System Test Soon". Space.com. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  48. ↑ "A farewell to hackadays favorite falcon 9 booster". 25 February 2020. it has the dubious honor of being the first reused Block 5 booster to be unintentionally destroyed.
  49. ↑ Kanayama, Lee (7 April 2021). "SpaceX launches Starlink v1.0 L23 mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  50. ↑ "Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 4–21". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  51. ↑ "Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 4-2". 8 September 2022.
  52. ↑ "United States Commercial Launch Manifest". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  53. ↑ "During transport back to Port early this morning, the booster tipped over on the droneship due to high winds and waves. Newer Falcon boosters have upgraded landing legs with the capability to self-level and mitigate this type of issue". Twitter. 2023-12-26.
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