ANOTHER RECORD: Falcon 9 achieves the quickest turnaround time of 9 days!
CALIFORNIA, USA - SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket recently achieved a 9-day turnaround reuse record during its launch of the NROL-57 mission. The mission was launched on Thursday, March 20 at 11:49 p.m. PT, using the first stage B1088 for the flight. Before this achievement, the previous record was held by booster B1080, which in 2024 managed a turnaround time of 13 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes. Since that flight, the current record holder for booster turnaround, now held by B1088 is now marked at 9 days, 3 hours, 39 minutes, and 28 seconds.
Countdown to breaking new records
On March 11, 2025, SpaceX launched the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The first stage booster used in this mission was B1088, the aforementioned booster that recently broke reusability records. During this launch, the booster was still on its 3rd flight, previously launching both the NROL-126 and Transporter-12 missions. Its past turnaround time was 57 days.
Back to the main mission, liftoff was successful at exactly 8:10 p.m. PT. The first stage booster did its job flawlessly, passing through Max-Q and separating from the second stage later. Due to the low payload mass, the booster still had enough fuel to do its subsequent boost-back burn, which it did smoothly. It then landed at Landing Zone 4 near its launch site, a factor that allowed it to break a new record in the next subsequent flight. No one knew that this started the countdown to bringing a new booster reuse record to life.
A new record comes to life
As 5 Falcon 9 rockets and missions launched after the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions on separate days, we didn't know that SpaceX was working on something new and quick behind the curtains. We would only know about it as they update us on their social media accounts. Scheduled for March 20 was the launch of the NROL-57 mission, once again launching from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Preliminary data from NASASpaceflight’s app called Next Spaceflight shows B1088 being used for this flight, which gave us the first signs of a very quick booster reuse for only 9 days.
SpaceX’s live stream kicked in and everyone’s thoughts were correct, it was B1088 using the same launch pad it launched from and the same rocket booster from 9 days ago. Once the clock reached 11:49 p.m. PT, SpaceX released the clamps and the Falcon 9 flew into the skies once more. It was all the same, reaching Max-Q and stage separation in quick succession. Since there was still enough fuel for the rocket to go back, it then did its subsequent boostback and re-entry burns in preparation for its return to the landing pad near the launch site. It then landed at Landing Zone 4 near its launch site, successfully ending the fastest turnaround of a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster to date, an impressive feat in rocket reusability.
For the second stage, the views were not shown as per customer request due to the secrecy behind the mission being it carrying a national security payload. However, according to data from NASASpaceflight and from the same app Next Spaceflight, the mission was a success, which marks the remarkable feat of the booster even more as it provided the early boost to space for the payload.
Conclusion
This data shows us how far the Falcon 9 rocket has come from scratch to be the only and fastest reusable rocket to date, which is also making spaceflight cheaper and more accessible than ever before. Before I end this article, let me show you the turnaround time this specific booster has had in between every mission it took to the skies. I will also show you the previous record holder of the fastest booster turnaround of a Falcon 9 rocket. Once again, data comes from NASASpaceflight’s app, Next Spaceflight, with the addition of Wikipedia for the latter data.
Booster Name: B1088
First Launch: NROL-126 on November 30, 2024 (after landing: 45 days turnaround)
Second Launch: Transporter 12 on January 15, 2025 (after landing: 56 days turnaround)
Third Launch: SPHEREx and PUNCH on March 11, 2025 (after landing: 9 days turnaround: a new record-holder)
Fourth and Last Launch (for now): NROL-57 on March 20, 2025
Average Turnaround Time of B1088 (as of March 22, 2025): 37 days
PREVIOUS Turnaround Record Holder: B1080 at 13 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes.
CURRENT Turnaround Record Holder: B1088 at 9 days, 3 hours, 39 minutes, and 28 seconds.
(a 4-day reduction in the quickest turnaround times, a great thing for SpaceX and in spaceflight)
This is KYNNMASTER 123 for The Weekly Spaceman, see you in the next one! 😊
Credits:
B1088 Manifest (Next Spaceflight)
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches - Wikipedia (Wikipedia)
OTHER SOURCES AND CREDITS ARE IN EACH SUBTOPIC AS IT AUTOMATICALLY REDIRECTS TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA SITE USED FOR UPLOADING THE DATA, PHOTOS, AND VIDEOS!
