The firsts, milestones and record-setters — from the Falcon 1 flight that saved the company to Starship’s tower catches. Filter by vehicle or outcome. (Curated highlights, not every one of 400+ flights.)
25 missions
A single Falcon 9 booster flew for the 35th time — the most of any orbital rocket ever, approaching the lifetime flights of a Space Shuttle orbiter.
Mission detailsThe debut of the larger, more capable Starship V3 (Block 3): the new ship survived reentry to a controlled splashdown while the new booster failed its landing burn.
Mission detailsThe first launch using a flight-proven Super Heavy booster — the first reuse of the largest rocket stage ever built — though the booster was lost later in flight.
Mission detailsThe first human spaceflight to fly a polar orbit, passing directly over both of Earth’s poles — a route never before flown with a crew.
Mission detailsThe launch tower’s “chopstick” arms caught the returning Super Heavy booster out of the air — a landing method many called impossible and the key to rapid reuse.
Mission detailsThe crew flew higher than anyone since Apollo and conducted the first commercial spacewalk using SpaceX-developed EVA suits.
Mission detailsBoth the booster and the ship survived to controlled soft splashdowns — the first time the full stack made it through reentry and landing burns intact.
Mission detailsStarship completed its full-duration ascent burn and reached space for the first time, testing payload-door and propellant-transfer objectives before both stages were lost on reentry.
Mission detailsThe first integrated launch of the full Starship stack cleared the pad and gathered data before tumbling and being destroyed — the start of a rapid test campaign.
Mission detailsThe first all-private crew to visit the ISS, a step toward commercial space stations and privately run human spaceflight.
Mission detailsFalcon 9 launched NASA’s DART, the first mission to test deflecting an asteroid by kinetic impact — later proven to have changed the moonlet’s orbit.
Mission detailsThe first orbital spaceflight crewed entirely by private citizens — no professional astronauts aboard — raising hundreds of millions for St. Jude.
Mission detailsSpaceX’s first dedicated rideshare deployed 143 satellites on one rocket — then a record — democratising orbit for small-satellite operators.
Mission detailsThe first full-length operational crew rotation, making Crew Dragon the routine ride for NASA and partner astronauts.
Mission detailsSpaceX flew NASA astronauts to orbit — the first crewed launch from US soil since the Shuttle’s 2011 retirement, ending reliance on Russian rockets.
Mission detailsThe first operational batch of Starlink satellites began building what is now the largest satellite constellation in history.
Mission detailsThe first commercial Falcon Heavy recovered all three first-stage boosters, including the first center-core droneship landing.
Mission detailsThe maiden Falcon Heavy — then the most powerful operational rocket — flew a Tesla Roadster toward Mars’s orbit and landed its two side boosters in synchrony.
Mission detailsSpaceX launched a satellite on a flight-proven booster for the first time — and landed it again — proving orbital rockets could be reused.
Mission detailsFalcon 9 delivered 11 satellites and then landed its first stage back at Cape Canaveral — the first vertical landing of an orbital-class booster.
Mission detailsThe first contracted cargo resupply run to the ISS, beginning a service that made SpaceX the station’s commercial lifeline.
Mission detailsDragon became the first commercial spacecraft to berth with the ISS, opening the era of private cargo delivery to the station.
Mission detailsThe first flight of Falcon 9 — the workhorse that would go on to fly hundreds of times and pioneer orbital booster reuse — succeeded on its debut.
Mission detailsThe fourth Falcon 1 reached orbit — the first privately developed, liquid-fueled rocket ever to do so, saving SpaceX from bankruptcy weeks before the cash ran out.
Mission detailsSpaceX's very first launch failed about 33 seconds in due to a fuel leak and fire — the first of three Falcon 1 failures that nearly ended the company.
Mission details