In an astounding display of rocketry prowess, SpaceX has been surging ahead with its ambitious launch schedule this year. The aerospace juggernaut is currently on track to complete a staggering 100 missions as per its 2023 launch manifest. SpaceX founder Elon Musk recently shared an even more audacious goal: the company aims to conduct a remarkable 10 Falcon flights a month by the end of this year, with plans to double that rate to 12 per month in the following year.
This announcement comes on the heels of SpaceX's recent milestone where they matched their previous annual record by completing their 61st launch of the year, with still four months left on the calendar. The company's 2023 launch manifest is nothing short of impressive, with intentions to execute a total of 100 missions, as confirmed by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.
Elon Musk celebrated this achievement, stating, "Great work by the SpaceX team successfully launching 61 Falcon rocket missions this year! If tomorrow’s mission goes well, we will exceed last year’s flight count. SpaceX has delivered ~80% of all Earth payload mass to orbit in 2023. China is ~10% & the rest of the world other ~10%. Aiming for 10 Falcon flights in a month by the end of this year, then 12 per month next year," he shared on September 2.
SpaceX's incredible launch cadence and capacity have placed them head and shoulders above the competition. The company has been launching orbital-class rockets at an astonishing average rate of one every 4.5 days. This remarkable feat is made possible by the utilization of their workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, known for its reusable booster that can achieve propulsive landings after launching payloads into orbit. SpaceX's ability to recover and reuse orbital-class rockets has positioned them as leaders in the aerospace industry.
BryceTech Data, a respected source for space-related analysis, further underscores SpaceX's dominance. In their Q2 2023 launch trends briefing, BryceTech quantified the extent to which SpaceX is breaking away from the competition. In each of the launch metrics tracked by BryceTech, including the number of launches, number of satellites launched, and mass to orbit, SpaceX outperformed all others. See BryceTech data in the chart below.
Comparatively, China's primary contractor for its space program, CASC, ranked second in these metrics but was notably distant from SpaceX's performance. In the second quarter, SpaceX launched 22 times, while CASC managed only six launches. SpaceX also put 648 satellites into orbit, a stark contrast to CASC's 49. One metric where SpaceX consistently leads is mass-to-orbit. According to BryceTech data, SpaceX has topped the world in this category for seven consecutive quarters, often with a significant margin. This year, SpaceX has expanded its lead even further, sending approximately ten times as much mass into space as its closest competition, CASC, in the first two quarters of 2023.
In terms of spacecraft, the majority of launches in Q2 consisted of communications satellites, with Starlink deployments leading the way. Technology development, remote sensing, and other applications made up the rest of the satellite breakdown. Notably, commercial satellites significantly outnumbered government deployments, and an overwhelming 97% of the satellites launched were smallsats.
As SpaceX continues its extraordinary pace of rocket launches, it solidifies its position as an industry leader, setting new records and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space exploration and satellite deployment. With the promise of even more Falcon flights on the horizon, the company's ambition knows no bounds.
Graph: BryceTech
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Aiming for 10 Falcon flights in a month by end of this year, then 12 per month next year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 2, 2023
Featured Image Source: SpaceX
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
