I think we can all agree that 2023 was an amazing year for space flight, but one company stands high above them all.
What can you say about SpaceX that hasn’t already been said? (hopefully a lot, otherwise this would be a pretty boring post).
The enigmatic leader Elon Musk has no shortage of grandiose visions for the company and the technology they create, from pioneering the landing and reusability of vertically launched rockets, to the yet unproven concept of catching a rocket on the launch stand when it returns.
Now SpaceX has broken their old record of launching 61 orbital launches that they set in 2022, with an amazing 96 successful launches of their Falcon series rockets in 2023!
If those facts were insane enough consider this:
SpaceX has now landed its 250th orbital rocket booster. To put that in perspective no other company has ever successfully landed a rocket booster, so take that NASA!
And because SpaceX loves gloat they recently announced that they just successfully launched and landed a single rocket 19 times!
According to Jon Edwards, SpaceX’s Vice President of Falcon Launch Vehicles (that’s an awesome title) Elon Musk suggested “a goal of 100 launches as a thought experiment.” a few years ago, and that’s what the company has been working toward ever since.
Even though they came up a little short on achieving that goal in 2023, SpaceX is now aiming to launch as many as 144 Falcon missions in 2024.
SpaceX is now rocking a company valuation of $180 Billion dollars with a capital B as of their most recent fund raising round.
SpaceX sets new rocket record with 96 successful launches in 2023