Engineering:List of failed SpaceX launches

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Short description: Rapid unscheduled disassemblies by the private spaceflight company


Since March 2006, SpaceX has launched 5 Falcon 1, 113 Falcon 9, 3 Falcon Heavy, and 1 Starship rockets. Of these, 3 Falcon 1, 2 Falcon 9 and 1 Starship launches were complete failures and 1 Falcon 9 launch were partial failures. [1][2] As of May 2023, SpaceX has a 97.4% launch success rate.[lower-alpha 1]

Orbital launch attempts

Falcon 1

Flight No. Date / time (UTC) Launch site Payload Payload mass Orbit Customers Launch outcome Launch video
1 24 March 2006, 22:30 Omelek Island FalconSAT-2 19.5 kg LEO (Planned) DARPA Failure[3] [video 1]
Engine failure at T+33 seconds. Loss of vehicle.[4] FalconSAT-2 landed in a storage shed near the launch site.[5][6]
2 21 March 2007, 01:10 Omelek Island DemoSat LEO (Planned) DARPA Failure[7] [video 2]
Successful first-stage burn and transition to second stage, maximal altitude 289 km.[8] Harmonic oscillation at T+5 minutes. Premature engine shutdown at T+7 min 30 s. Failed to reach orbit.[9]
3 3 August 2008, 03:34[10] Omelek Island Trailblazer
PRESat
NanoSail-D
Explorers 		4 kg LEO (Planned) ORS
NASA
NASA
Celestis[11] 		Failure[12] [video 3]
Residual stage-1 thrust[13] led to collision between stage 1 and stage 2.[14]

Falcon 9

Flight No. Date and

time (UTC)

Booster Version[lower-alpha 2] Launch site Payload[lower-alpha 3] Payload mass Orbit Customer Launch outcome Booster landing
4 8 October 2012,

00:35[15]

F9 v1.0[16] B0006[17] CCAFS,

SLC-40

SpaceX CRS-1[18](Dragon C103) 4,700 kg (10,400 lb) (excl. Dragon mass) LEO (ISS) NASA (CRS) Success No attempt
Orbcomm-OG2[19] 172 kg (379 lb)[20] LEO Orbcomm Partial failure[21]
CRS-1 was successful, but the secondary payload was inserted into an abnormally low orbit and subsequently lost. This was due to one of the nine Merlin engines shutting down during the launch, and NASA declining a second reignition, as per ISS visiting vehicle safety rules, the primary payload owner is contractually allowed to decline a second reignition. NASA stated that this was because SpaceX could not guarantee a high enough likelihood of the second stage completing the second burn successfully which was required to avoid any risk of secondary payload's collision with the ISS.[22][23][24]
5 28 June 2015,

14:21[15][25]

F9 v1.1B1018[17] Cape Canaveral,

LC-40

SpaceX CRS-7[26](Dragon C109) 1,952 kg (4,303 lb)[27] (excl. Dragon mass) LEO (ISS) NASA (CRS) Failure (in flight)[28][29] Precluded[30]

(drone ship)

Launch performance was nominal until an overpressure incident in the second-stage LOX tank, leading to vehicle breakup at T+150 seconds. Dragon capsule survived the explosion but was lost upon splashdown as its software did not contain provisions for parachute deployment on launch vehicle failure.[31](more details below) The drone ship Of Course I Still Love You was towed out to sea to prepare for a landing test so this mission was its first operational assignment.[32]
6 [lower-alpha 4] 3 September 2016,

07:00 (planned)[33]

F9 FT

B1028[34]

Cape Canaveral,

LC-40

AMOS-6[35] 5,500 kg (12,100 lb) GTO Spacecom Precluded
(failure pre-flight) 		Precluded

(drone ship)

The rocket and the AMOS-6 payload were lost in a launch pad explosion on 1 September 2016 during propellant filling procedures prior to a static fire test.[36] The pad was clear of personnel, and there were no injuries.[37][38] SpaceX released an official statement in January 2017 indicating that the cause of the failure was a buckled liner in several of the Composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) (used to store helium which pressurize the stage's propellant tanks), causing perforations that allowed liquid and/or solid oxygen to accumulate underneath the lining, which was ignited by friction.[39] Following the explosion, SpaceX has switched to performing static fire tests only without attached payloads.(more details below)

Starship

Flight

No.

Date and

time (UTC)

Booster Version Launch site Payload Payload mass Orbit Customer Launch

outcome

Booster landing
7 20 April 2023,

13:33

Prototype Starbase Texas Unknown Unknown Transatmospheric Earth orbit None Failure No attempt planned
Main page: SpaceX Starship orbital test flight

The first integrated test flight damaged its launchpad then broke up in the atmosphere after a stage separation failure.

Videos

  1. ↑ Falcon 1 Flight 1 on YouTube
  2. ↑ Falcon 1 DemoFlight 2 Launch on YouTube
  3. ↑ Falcon 1 Flight 3 Launch Video on YouTube

Notes

  1. ↑ Total number of SpaceX launch as of May 2023 : 5+227+1 = 233. Out of 233 launches, 3+2+1=6 were complete failures. 227 out of 233 is a 97.4% success rate.
  2. ↑ Falcon 9 first-stage boosters are designated with a construction serial number and an optional flight number when reused, e.g. B1021.1 and B1021.2 represent the two flights of booster B1021. Launches using reused boosters are denoted with a recycled symbol ♺.
  3. ↑ Dragon 1 or 2 are designated with a construction serial number or name and an optional flight number when reused, e.g. Dragon C106.1 and Dragon C106.2 represent the two flights of Dragon C106. Dragon spacecraft that are reused are denoted with a recycled symbol ♺.
  4. ↑ Since it was a pre-flight test, SpaceX does not count this scheduled attempt in their launch totals. Some sources do consider this planned flight into the counting schemes, and as a result, some sources might list launch totals after 2016 with one additional launch.

References

  1. ↑ "SpaceXNow - Stats". https://spacexnow.com/stats.php. 
  2. ↑ Berger, Eric (2021-05-26). "Falcon 9 completes its 100th successful flight in a row [Updated"] (in en-us). https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/05/is-spacex-reliable-company-goes-for-100th-successful-flight-in-a-row-today/. 
  3. ↑ "Falcon 1 Failure Traced to a Busted Nut" (in en). 2006-07-19. https://www.space.com/2643-falcon-1-failure-traced-busted-nut.html. 
  4. ↑ Tom Junod (14 November 2012). "Elon Musk: Triumph of His Will". Esquire. http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a16681/elon-musk-interview-1212/. 
  5. ↑ France, Marty; Lawrence, Tim. "FalconSAT-2 Launched (and Recovered)". United States Air Force Academy. http://www.usafa.edu/df/dfas/Papers/20062007/FalconSAT-2%20Launched%20%28and%20Recovered%29%20-%20France.pdf. 
  6. ↑ "FalconSAT Program" (in en-US). https://www.usafa.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/428292/falconsat-program/. 
  7. ↑ "SpaceX's Second Falcon 1 Rocket Fails to Reach Orbit" (in en). 2007-03-21. https://www.space.com/3590-spacex-falcon-1-rocket-fails-reach-orbit.html. 
  8. ↑ SpaceX (2022-11-14). "Falcon 1 User Manual". http://www.georing.biz/usefull/Falcon1UsersGuide.pdf. 
  9. ↑ "Demo Flight 2 Flight Review Update". SpaceX. 15 June 2007. http://www.spacex.com/F1-DemoFlight2-Flight-Review.pdf. 
  10. ↑ Stephen Clarke (3 August 2008). "Falcon 1 suffers another setback". Spaceflight Now. https://spaceflightnow.com/falcon/003/. 
  11. ↑ "Space Exploration Technologies Corporation - Launch Manifest". 2009-04-14. http://spacex.com/launch_manifest.php. 
  12. ↑ sscott (2008-08-04). "SpaceX's Falcon 1 Flight 3 Launch Fails - Via Satellite -" (in en). https://www.satellitetoday.com/government-military/2008/08/04/spacexs-falcon-1-flight-3-launch-fails/. 
  13. ↑ "spacex - Why couldn't the Falcon 1 flight 3 launch make it to orbit?" (in en). https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/13520/why-couldnt-the-falcon-1-flight-3-launch-make-it-to-orbit. 
  14. ↑ "Flight 3 mission summary". SpaceX. 6 August 2008. http://www.spacex.com/news/2013/02/11/falcon-1-flight-3-mission-summary. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Launch Log". Spaceflight Now. February 1, 2016. http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/launchlog.html. 
  16. ↑ Clark, Stephen (May 18, 2012). "Q&A with SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk". Spaceflight Now. http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/120518musk/. "The next version of Falcon 9 will be used for everything. The last flight of version 1.0 will be Flight 5. All future missions after Flight 5 will be v1.1." 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Space Launch Report: SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.2 Data Sheet". Space Launch Report. August 14, 2017. http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/falcon9ft.html. 
  18. ↑ "SpaceX Launch Manifest". SpaceX. http://www.spacex.com/launch_manifest.php. 
  19. ↑ (secondary payload) de Selding, Peter B. (May 25, 2012). "Orbcomm Eagerly Awaits Launch of New Satellite on Next Falcon 9". SpaceNews. http://spacenews.com/orbcomm-eagerly-awaits-launch-new-satellite-next-falcon-9/. 
  20. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Orbcomm FM101, ..., FM119 (OG2)". Gunter's Space Page. http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/orbcomm-2.htm. 
  21. ↑ "Opinion | First Outing for SpaceX" (in en-US). The New York Times. 2012-10-29. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/opinion/first-outing-for-spacex-pleases-nasa.html. 
  22. ↑ Clark, Stephen (October 11, 2012). "Orbcomm craft falls to Earth, company claims total loss". Spaceflight Now. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/004/121011orbcomm/. 
  23. ↑ de Selding, Peter B. (October 11, 2012). "Orbcomm Craft Launched by Falcon 9 Falls out of Orbit". SpaceNews. http://spacenews.com/orbcomm-craft-launched-by-falcon-9-falls-out-of-orbit/. "Orbcomm requested that SpaceX carry one of their small satellites (weighing a few hundred pounds, versus Dragon at over 12,000 pounds)... The higher the orbit, the more test data [Orbcomm] can gather, so they requested that we attempt to restart and raise altitude. NASA agreed to allow that, but only on condition that there be substantial propellant reserves, since the orbit would be close to the space station. It is important to appreciate that Orbcomm understood from the beginning that the orbit-raising maneuver was tentative. They accepted that there was a high risk of their satellite remaining at the Dragon insertion orbit. SpaceX would not have agreed to fly their satellite otherwise, since this was not part of the core mission and there was a known, material risk of no altitude raise." 
  24. ↑ Clark, Stephen (November 14, 2012). "Dragon Mission Report". Spaceflight Now. http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/004/121114anomalies/. 
  25. ↑ "NASA Opens Media Accreditation for Next SpaceX Station Resupply Launch" (Press release). NASA. May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  26. ↑ "Launch Manifest". SpaceX. http://www.spacex.com/missions. 
  27. ↑ "SpaceX CRS-7 Mission Overview". NASA. June 2015. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spacex_crs7_mission_overview.pdf.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  28. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (June 28, 2015). "SpaceX Rocket Explodes After Launch to Space Station". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/science/space/spacex-rocket-explodes-during-launch.html. 
  29. ↑ "SpaceX Rocket Explosion Likely Caused by Faulty Strut, Elon Musk Says" (in en). 2015-07-20. https://www.space.com/29994-spacex-rocket-explosion-cause-faulty-strut.html. 
  30. ↑ Bergin, Chris; Chris Gebhardt (June 24, 2015). "World launch markets look toward rocket reusability". NASASpaceFlight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/06/world-launch-markets-rocket-reusability/. 
  31. ↑ Bergin, Chris (July 27, 2015). "Saving Spaceship Dragon – Software to provide contingency chute deploy". NASASpaceFlight.com. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/07/saving-spaceship-dragon-contingency-chute/. 
  32. ↑ Smedley, Jesse (18 June 2015). "SpaceX Augments and Upgrades Drone Ship Armada". NASASpaceFlight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/06/spacex-augments-upgrades-drone-ship-armada/. 
  33. ↑ Godwin, Curt (September 1, 2016). "SpaceX set to launch heaviest payload to date as Tropical Storm Hermine looms". SpaceFlight Insider. http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/space-exploration-technologies/spacex-set-launch-amos-6-tropical-storm-hermine-looms/. 
  34. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Falcon-9 v1.2 (Falcon-9FT)". http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau_det/falcon-9_v1-2.htm. 
  35. ↑ de Selding, Peter B. [@pbdes] (January 26, 2016). "Spacecom of Israel: SpaceX confirms our AMOS-6 satellite, included our Ku- and Facebook/Eutelsat Ka-band for 4.0° west, to launch in May on Falcon 9.". https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/691860110751240192. 
  36. ↑ Malik, Tariq (September 1, 2016). "SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Explodes on Launch Pad in Florida". Space.com. http://www.space.com/33929-spacex-falcon-9-rocket-explodes-on-launch-pad.html. 
  37. ↑ @SpaceX (September 1, 2016). "Update on this morning's anomaly". https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/771395212304277504. 
  38. ↑ "After 2016 rocket explosion, Elon Musk's SpaceX looked seriously at sabotage" (in en-US). Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/02/26/after-2016-rocket-explosion-elon-musks-spacex-looked-seriously-at-sabotage/. 
  39. ↑ "January 2 Anomaly Updates". SpaceX. 2 January 2017. http://www.spacex.com/news/2016/09/01/anomaly-updates. 



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