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SpaceX returns five-flight Falcon 9 booster to port as next reuse milestone nears - Teslarati
Aug 11, 2020 1 min, 1 sec
Scheduled no earlier than (NET) mid-August, SpaceX’s 10th Starlink v1.0 launch – the 11th overall – is likely up next according to well-sourced launch photographer Ben Cooper.

That particular vehicle became the first orbital-class liquid rocket booster in history to launch and land five times after orbital-class missions when it helped placed the Starlink V1 L7 payload in orbit on June 4th.

While impressive, that turnaround would only be the sixth or seventh fastest in SpaceX’s history of booster reuse.

Still, given that the B1049’s sixth launch would be a pathfinder mission for Falcon 9 Block 5 reusability, it would be a major bode of confidence in the design if SpaceX were able to consecutively break two booster reuse records with the same Falcon 9 – and do so less than three months apart.

The mission will be Falcon 9 booster B1059’s fourth launch and could also happen just 70-80 days after its third flight.

Meanwhile, B1051’s safe return to port and B1049’s imminent sixth launch debut suggests that the former booster could be ready for its own sixth launch as early as October, potentially leaving enough time for one or both of the rockets to squeeze in a seventh-flight milestone before the year is out.

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