CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has once again pushed the boundaries of rocket reusability with the 27th successful launch and landing of its Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1067. The booster, a veteran of SpaceX’s fleet, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on April 14, 2025, at 12:00 a.m. EDT, delivering 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit. Just over eight minutes later, B1067 touched down flawlessly on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean, marking its 27th landing and setting a new record for rocket reusability.
The launch of Starlink Group 6-73, was the second most recent Falcon 9 mission from Florida, following a launch on April 12, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. That mission, Starlink 12-17, saw booster B1083 carry 21 Starlink satellites to orbit, landing successfully on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas. The back-to-back launches highlights SpaceX’s relentless pace and its commitment to reducing spaceflight costs through reusable rocket technology.
Reusability
Booster B1067, first launched on June 3, 2021, for the CRS-22 mission to the International Space Station, has now flown 27 missions, 16 of which supported SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. Its resume includes high-profile missions such as Crew-3, Crew-4, and Galileo L13.
SpaceX’s focus on reusability stems from the high cost of manufacturing rocket components. The first-stage booster, which constitutes about 60% of a Falcon 9’s production cost, is the most expensive single component. By recovering and refurbishing boosters, SpaceX has slashed launch costs significantly. According to a 2018 estimate by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, a reused Falcon 9 launch can cost as little as $30 million, compared to $90 million for an expendable launch. While exact savings vary by mission, the ability to fly a single booster 27 times demonstrates unprecedented cost efficiency.
The Economics of Reusability
SpaceX’s reusability program began in earnest with the first successful booster landing in December 2015. Since then, the company has landed 431 boosters out of 444 attempts, with 408 re-flights, all but one delivering payloads successfully. The economics are straightforward; by reusing boosters, SpaceX avoids the cost of building new ones for each mission, which is a game-changer for the industry.
The company’s streamlined refurbishment process has also reduced turnaround times. Booster B1088, for example, set a record for the fastest booster turnaround at just over nine days in early 2025. For B1067, SpaceX has maintained an average cadence of one flight every six weeks since its debut, with minimal maintenance between missions. “We’ve optimized our processes to make refurbishment faster and cheaper,” Musk posted on X in 2024. “The goal is to make launches as routine as airline flights.”
Pushing the Limits of Reusability
SpaceX’s ultimate goal is to certify Falcon 9 boosters for up to 40 flights each, a target the company is actively pursuing. In 2022, after boosters B1058 and B1060 completed their 15th flights, SpaceX conducted detailed inspections and raised its certification to 20 flights. Following B1062’s 23rd flight in 2024, the company announced plans to extend certification to 40 flights, citing improved materials and rigorous testing.
The Block 5 variant, introduced in 2018, was engineered for rapid reuse with upgrades like titanium grid fins and enhanced heat shielding. These improvements have allowed boosters like B1067 to withstand repeated launches and landings with minimal wear. The Block 5 is the backbone of the SpaceX fleet, it’s designed to fly, land, and fly again with as little downtime as possible.
A Vision for the Future
SpaceX’s reusability efforts are key to its mission to make space exploration more affordable and sustainable. The company’s broader goal, as stated on its website, is to “revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.” By lowering launch costs, SpaceX aims to make missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond financially viable.
The success of B1067 also paves the way for SpaceX’s Starship program, which aims to develop a fully reusable rocket capable of carrying massive payloads and crews to deep space. “Falcon 9 is teaching us how to perfect reusability,” Musk said in a 2023 interview. “Those lessons will make Starship the most cost-effective rocket ever built.”
