2022 was another record-breaking year for SpaceX, launching 60 Falcon 9s and one Falcon Heavy, the first since 2019. That’s an average of over one launch per week and double what SpaceX could do in 2021.
SpaceX launched 61 rockets in the year 2022, almost double from 2021. One of those launches was the return of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, and the rest was the company’s workhorse Falcon 9.
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2022 SpaceX launches’ stats at a glance
Number of launches: 61 (Falcon 9: 60, Falcon Heavy: 1)
Launch success rate: 100%
East Coast launches: 48 (LC-39A: 18, SLC-40: 30)
West Coast launches: 13 (SLC-4E)
Total payload mass: ~633,779 kg (Not including classified and rideshare missions)
Landings at a glance
Number of landings: 60
Landing success rate: 100%
Ground landings: 12 (LZ-1: 5, LZ-2: 2, LZ-4: 5)
Droneship landings: 48 (OCISLY: 3, JRTI: 23, ASOG: 22)
Coming toe and toe with an entire nation
In any other industry outside of aerospace, if you only sold 60 units of your product, everyone would think you’re crazy. However, rocket launches are a different beast, and being able to launch a rocket almost every week is a feat few can achieve. SpaceX, a private company, can close to matching the number of launches in 2022 of the entire nation of China (64). This was something I mentioned when SpaceX launched its second to last mission of 2022, a Starlink mission first believed to be the Gen 2 Starlink
2022 in launches: A year dominated by Starlink
Of the 61 launches SpaceX launched in 2022, 32 were for Starlink satellites. SpaceX seemed to fit as many Starlink missions when there wasn’t a launch slated for a commercial customer. We even saw them squeeze in a few Starlinks around NASA’s Artemis 1 mission when it ran into launch trouble.
In total, SpaceX launched 1,722 Starlink satellites into orbit, over a third of all Starlink satellites launched since the first in 2019. Even if you remove Starlink from SpaceX’s launch manifest, the company still dominates other commercial launch providers. None, even Rocket Lab, have been able to come close to reaching the volume of commercial launches SpaceX can.
Return of the Falcon Heavy and first national security launch
In 2022 we saw the return of SpaceX’s biggest and baddest rocket currently launching, the Falcon Heavy. Three Falcon 9 cores strapped together with both the side boosters coming back to land at LZ-1 and 2 really puts SpaceX’s talent on full display. Sadly this year’s showing launched in a rare thick fog for Florida’s Space Coast, meaning lots of people got to miss its beauty.
This was SpaceX’s first national security launch, launching a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. Not much is ever disclosed to the public about these satellites. We know that it was called USSF-44 and was headed to geostationary orbit. In 2023, several more are slated to launch, so if you enjoy big rockets, make sure to check these out.
Three crewed missions with more on the way
In 2022 SpaceX launched another three crewed missions to space, all going to the International Space Station. Two were crew rotations for NASA; the second featured the first Russian to launch on a commercial vehicle. Then the third was the first private astronaut mission to the ISS via Axiom.
Axiom’s business is to launch crews to the ISS, and eventually its space station, to allow private research experiments. Also, Axiom will enable other activities to happen in space, like the filming of movies and possibly even vacations for the ultra-wealthy. We’ve already seen missions like this take place on the Russian side of the station, but now this is all possible through the US with Axiom.
In 2023, we expect SpaceX to push further with the number of crewed Falcon 9 flights to space. Two more rotations from NASA are expected as Boeing is still working on getting its Starliner crew capsule certified. These will take place in the spring and fall, as usual. Second, the Polaris Dawn mission is set to launch in March. Finally, we could see one or two, maybe even three, Axiom missions this year. Details are short as to who will fly on these missions, but for Axiom 2, Peggy Whitson will be its commander, with John Schoffner as the pilot. Ax-2, as the mission is officially known, is slated to launch as soon as May.
List of SpaceX launches in 2022
| Date | Mission Name | Rocket / Booster(s) | Launch Pad | Landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 6 | Starlink Group 4-5 | Falcon 9 (B1062.4) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| January 13 | Transporter-3 | Falcon 9 (B1058.10) | SLC-40 | LZ-1 |
| January 19 | Starlink Group 4-6 | Falcon 9 (B1060.10) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| January 31 | CSG-2 | Falcon 9 (B1052.3) | SLC-40 | LZ-1 |
| February 2 | NROL-87 | Falcon 9 (B1071.1) | SLC-4E | LZ-4 |
| February 3 | Starlink Group 4-7 | Falcon 9 (B1061.6) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| February 21 | Starlink Group 4-8 | Falcon 9 (B1058.11) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| February 25 | Starlink Group 4-11 | Falcon 9 (B1063.4) | SLC-4E | OCISLY |
| March 3 | Starlink Group 4-9 | Falcon 9 (B1060.11) | LC-39A | JRTI |
| March 9 | Starlink Group 4-10 | Falcon 9 (B1052.4) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| March 19 | Starlink Group 4-12 | Falcon 9 (B1051.12) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| April 1 | Transporter-4 | Falcon 9 (B1061.7) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| April 8 | Axiom-1 (Dragon Endeavour) | Falcon 9 (B1062.5) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| April 17 | NROL-85 | Falcon 9 (B1071.2) | SLC-4E | LZ-4 |
| April 21 | Starlink Group 4-14 | Falcon 9 (B1060.12) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| April 27 | Crew-4 (Dragon Freedom) | Falcon 9 (B1067.4) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| April 29 | Starlink Group 4-16 | Falcon 9 (B1062.6) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| May 6 | Starlink Group 4-17 | Falcon 9 (B1058.12) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| May 13 | Starlink Group 4-13 | Falcon 9 (B1063.5) | SLC-4E | OCISLY |
| May 14 | Starlink Group 4-15 | Falcon 9 (B1073.1) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| May 18 | Starlink 4-18 | Falcon 9 (B1052.5) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| May 25 | Transporter-5 | Falcon 9 (B1061.8) | SLC-40 | LZ-1 |
| June 8 | Nilesat-301 | Falcon 9 (B1062.7) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| June 17 | Starlink Group 4-19 | Falcon 9 (B1060.13) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| June 18 | SARah 1 | Falcon 9 (B1071.3) | SLC-4E | LZ-4 |
| June 19 | Globalstar-2 M087 | Falcon 9 (B1061.9) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| June 29 | SES-22 | Falcon 9 (B1073.2) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| July 7 | Starlink Group 4-21 | Falcon 9 (B1058.13) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| July 11 | Starlink Group 3-1 | Falcon 9 (B1063.3) | SLC-4E | OCISLY |
| July 15 | CRS-25 | Falcon 9 (B1067.5) | LC39A | ASOG |
| July 17 | Starlink Group 4-22 | Falcon 9 (B1051.13) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| July 22 | Starlink Group 3-2 | Falcon 9 (B1071.4) | SLC-4E | OCISLY |
| July 24 | Starlink Group 4-25 | Falcon 9 (B1062.8) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| August 4 | Danuri (KPLO) | Falcon 9 (B1052.6) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| August 10 | Starlink Group 4-26 | Falcon 9 (B1073.3) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| August 12 | Starlink Group 3-3 | Falcon 9 (B1061.10) | SLC-4E | OCISLY |
| August 19 | Starlink Group 4-27 | Falcon 9 (B1062.9) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| August 28 | Starlink Group 4-23 | Falcon 9 (B1069.2) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| August 31 | Starlink Group 3-4 | Falcon 9 (B1063.7) | SLC-4E | OCISLY |
| September 5 | Starlink Group 4-20 | Falcon 9 (B1052.7) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| September 11 | Starlink Group 4-2, BlueWalker-3 | Falcon 9 (B1058.14) | LC-39A | ASOG |
| September 19 | Starlink Group 4-34 | Falcon 9 (B1067.6) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| September 24 | Starlink Group 4-35 | Falcon 9 (B1073.4 | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| October 5 | Crew-5 (Dragon Endurance) | Falcon 9 (B1077.1) | LC-39A | JRTI |
| October 5 | Starlink Group 4-29 | Falcon 9 (B1071.5) | SLC-4E | OCISLY |
| October 8 | Intelsat Galaxy 33 & 34 | Falcon 9 (B1060.14) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| October 15 | Hotbird 13F | Falcon 9 (B1069.3) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| October 20 | Starlink Group 4-36 | Falcon 9 (B1062.10) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| October 28 | Starlink Group 4-31 | Falcon 9 (B1063.8) | SLC-4E | OCISLY |
| November 1 | USSF-44 | Falcon Heavy (B1066, B1064.1, B1065.1) | LC-39A | LZ-1 & 2 |
| November 3 | Hotbird 13G | Falcon 9 (B1067.7) | SLC-40 | JRTI |
| November 12 | Intelsat Galaxy 31 & 32 | Falcon 9 (B1051.14) | SLC-40 | None |
| November 23 | Eutelsat 10B | Falcon 9 (B1049.11) | SLC-40 | None |
| November 26 | CRS-26 | Falcon 9 (B1076.1) | LC-39A | JRTI |
| December 8 | OneWeb 15 | Falcon 9 (B1069.4) | LC-39A | LZ-1 |
| December 11 | Hakuto-R | Falcon 9 (B1073.5) | SLC-40 | LZ-2 |
| December 16 | SWOT | Falcon 9 (B1071.6) | SLC-4E | LZ-4 |
| December 16 | O3b mPOWER 1 & 2 | Falcon 9 (B1067.8) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| December 17 | Starlink Group 4-37 | Falcon 9 (B1058.15) | LC-39A | JRTI |
| December 28 | Starlink Group 5-1 | Falcon 9 (B1062.11) | SLC-40 | ASOG |
| December 30 | EROS-C3 | Falcon 9 (B1061.11) | SLC-4E | LZ-4 |
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