Reusable launch vehicle

<h2 id="configurations">Configurations</h2>
Reusable launch systems may be either fully or partially reusable.

<h3>Fully reusable launch vehicle</h3>
Several companies are currently developing fully reusable launch vehicles as of January 2025. Each of them is working on a <a href="/facts/Two-stage-to-orbit/rD0nmgs0">two-stage-to-orbit</a> system. <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a> is testing <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship/zkm1P9kA">Starship</a>, which has been in development since 2016 and has made <a href="/facts/Starship_flight_test_1/PdjvjIyV">an initial test flight</a> in April 2023<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> and a total of 8 flights as of March 2025. <a href="/facts/Blue_Origin/CxFvEmDr">Blue Origin</a>, with <a href="/facts/Project_Jarvis/zu8UwR3P">Project Jarvis</a>, began development work by early 2021, but has announced no date for testing and have not discussed the project publicly.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> <a href="/facts/Stoke_Space/VGeLTl07">Stoke Space</a> is also developing a rocket which is planned to be reusable.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a>
As of January 2025<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reusable_launch_vehicle&action=edit">[update]</a>, Starship is the only <a href="/facts/Launch_vehicle/g1GCGFJB">launch vehicle</a> intended to be fully reusable that has been fully built and tested. The <a href="/facts/Starship_flight_test_5/4fN6jHmd">fifth test flight</a> was on October 13, 2024, in which the vehicle completed a suborbital launch and landed both stages for the second time. The <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Super_Heavy/wXKtwRfS">Super Heavy</a> booster was caught successfully by the "chopstick system" on Orbital Pad A for the first time. The Ship completed its second successful reentry and returned for a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The test marked the second instance that could be considered meeting all requirements to be fully reusable.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a>[failed verification – see discussion]

<h3>Partially reusable launch systems</h3>
Partial reusable launch systems, in the form of multiple stage to orbit systems have been so far the only reusable configurations in use.

<h4>Specific component reuse</h4>
The historic <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a> reused its <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Booster/ETayF0Xh">Solid Rocket Boosters</a>, its <a href="/facts/RS-25/vGkj6Vxm">RS-25</a> engines and the <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_orbiter/pD50Txk9">Space Shuttle orbiter</a> that acted as an orbital insertion stage, but it did not reuse the <a href="/facts/External_Tank/RApJkcAq">External Tank</a> that fed the RS-25 engines. This is an example of a reusable launch system which reuses specific components of rockets. <a href="/facts/United_Launch_Alliance/yWev1ndb">ULA’s</a> <a href="/facts/Vulcan_Centaur/ItQaJHkk">Vulcan Centaur</a> was originally designed to reuse the first stage engines, while the tank is expended. The engines would splashdown on an inflatable <a href="/facts/Aeroshell/PeBuDlpv">aeroshell</a>, then be recovered. On 23 February 2024, one of the nine Merlin engines a powering a <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9 </a> launched for the 22nd time, making it the most reused liquid fuel engine used in an operational manner, having already surpassed <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Main_Engine/vGkj6Vxm">Space Shuttle Main Engine</a> number 2019's record of 19 flights.

<h4>Liftoff stages</h4>
As of 2024, <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a> and <a href="/facts/Falcon_Heavy/vh7so7BW">Falcon Heavy</a> are the only orbital rockets to reuse their boosters, although multiple other systems are in development. All aircraft-launched rockets reuse the aircraft.
Other than that a range of <a href="/facts/Non-rocket_launch/sb5VH0fE">non-rocket liftoff systems</a> have been proposed and explored over time as reusable systems for liftoff, from balloons<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a>[relevant?] to <a href="/facts/Space_elevator/VUBYsbM6">space elevators</a>. Existing examples are systems which employ winged horizontal jet-engine powered liftoff. Such aircraft can <a href="/facts/Air_launch/g5rLwWY9">air launch</a> expendable rockets and can because of that be considered partially reusable systems if the aircraft is thought of as the first stage of the launch vehicle. An example of this configuration is the <a href="/facts/Orbital_Sciences_Pegasus/w8swDwhu">Orbital Sciences Pegasus</a>. For suborbital flight the <a href="/facts/SpaceShipTwo/IAAHm6Qx">SpaceShipTwo</a> uses for liftoff a carrier plane, its <a href="/facts/Mothership/uSNuBK2V">mothership</a> the <a href="/facts/Scaled_Composites_White_Knight_Two/yLNJmmH8">Scaled Composites White Knight Two</a>. Rocket Lab is working on <a href="/facts/Rocket_Lab_Neutron/nXdmteyP">Neutron</a>, and the <a href="/facts/European_Space_Agency/L8YRNV0C">European Space Agency</a> is working on <a href="/facts/Themis_programme/R14AvW0m">Themis</a>. Both vehicles are planned to recover the first stage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a>

<h4>Orbital insertion stages</h4>
So far, most launch systems achieve <a href="/facts/Orbital_insertion/l8oQMJe4">orbital insertion</a> with at least partially expended <a href="/facts/Multistaged_rocket/WNrmgztj">multistaged rockets</a>, particularly with the second and third stages. Only the <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a> has achieved a reuse of the orbital insertion stage, by using the engines and fuel tank of <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_orbiter/pD50Txk9">its orbiter</a>. The <a href="/facts/Buran_(spacecraft)/s0nNfe61">Buran spaceplane</a> and <a href="/facts/Starship_spacecraft/FGWc9PxL">Starship spacecraft</a> are two other reusable spacecraft that were designed to be able to act as orbital insertion stages and have been produced, however the former only made one uncrewed test flight before the project was cancelled, and the latter is not yet operational, having completed <a href="/facts/List_of_Starship_launches/jN5xUfJ7">seven orbital test flights</a>, as of January 2025, which achieved all of its mission objectives at the fourth flight.

<h3>Reusable spacecraft</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Reusable_spacecraft/RKXsxAUj">Reusable spacecraft</a>
Launch systems can be combined with reusable spaceplanes or capsules. The <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_orbiter/pD50Txk9">Space Shuttle orbiter</a>, <a href="/facts/SpaceShipTwo/IAAHm6Qx">SpaceShipTwo</a>, Dawn Mk-II Aurora, and the under-development Indian <a href="/facts/RLV-TD/bScJhFXQ">RLV-TD</a> are examples for a reusable space vehicle (a <a href="/facts/Spaceplane/oMJNJPy7">spaceplane</a>) as well as a part of its launch system.
More contemporarily the <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a> launch system has carried reusable vehicles such as the <a href="/facts/Dragon_2/Wy8kUegK">Dragon 2</a> and <a href="/facts/X-37/yVpEholX">X-37</a>.
Contemporary reusable orbital vehicles include the X-37, the <a href="/facts/Dream_Chaser/vfXrKLh7">Dream Chaser</a>, the Dragon 2, the Indian RLV-TD and the upcoming European <a href="/facts/Space_Rider/UuVWlHmk">Space Rider</a> (successor to the <a href="/facts/IXV/lwSnkgWb">IXV</a>).
As with launch vehicles, all pure spacecraft during the early decades of human capacity to achieve spaceflight were designed to be single-use items. This was true both for <a href="/facts/Satellite/PTX8c68t">satellites</a> and <a href="/facts/Space_probes/AeWRBITP">space probes</a> intended to be left in space for a long time, as well as any object designed to return to Earth such as <a href="/facts/Human_spaceflight/VgVxsGmq">human-carrying</a> <a href="/facts/Space_capsule/wd4mpTCX">space capsules</a> or the sample return canisters of space matter collection missions like <a href="/facts/Stardust_(spacecraft)/bEcy98J3">Stardust</a> (1999–2006)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a> or <a href="/facts/Hayabusa/kFalgese">Hayabusa</a> (2005–2010).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a> Exceptions to the general rule for space vehicles were the US <a href="/facts/Gemini_SC-2/hBajGtBd">Gemini SC-2</a>, the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a> spacecraft <a href="/facts/VA_spacecraft/GH1wozUp">Vozvraschaemyi Apparat (VA)</a>, the US <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_orbiter/pD50Txk9">Space Shuttle orbiter</a> (mid-1970s-2011, with 135 flights between 1981 and 2011) and the Soviet <a href="/facts/Buran_(spacecraft)/s0nNfe61">Buran</a> (1980-1988, with just one uncrewed test flight in 1988). Both of these spaceships were also an integral part of the launch system (providing launch acceleration) as well as operating as medium-duration spaceships in <a href="/facts/Orbital_spaceflight/xdzKmkvt">space</a>. This began to change in the mid-2010s.
In the 2010s, the <a href="/facts/Commercial_Resupply_Services/TahzTN1Y">space transport cargo capsule</a> from one of the suppliers resupplying the <a href="/facts/International_Space_Station/VNPUBz9m">International Space Station</a> was designed for reuse, and after 2017,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> NASA began to allow the reuse of the SpaceX <a href="/facts/Dragon_1/oduVLMWr">Dragon cargo spacecraft</a> on these NASA-contracted transport routes. This was the beginning of design and operation of a reusable space vehicle.
The <a href="/facts/Boeing_Starliner/VHmM9Yp7">Boeing Starliner</a> capsules also reduce their fall speed with parachutes and deploy an airbag shortly before touchdown on the ground, in order to retrieve and reuse the vehicle.
As of 2021<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reusable_launch_vehicle&action=edit">[update]</a>, SpaceX is building and testing the <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship/zkm1P9kA">Starship</a> spaceship to be capable of surviving multiple <a href="/facts/Hypersonic/QUsQbhur">hypersonic</a> <a href="/facts/Atmospheric_reentry/p7TMk9sa">reentries through the atmosphere</a> so that they become truly reusable long-duration spaceships; no Starship operational flights have yet occurred.

<h2 id="entry-systems">Entry systems</h2>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Atmospheric_entry/p7TMk9sa">Atmospheric entry</a>
See also: <a href="/facts/Air_brake_(aeronautics)/1Fygm3me">Air brake (aeronautics)</a>, <a href="/facts/Aerobraking/kQce265y">Aerobraking</a>, <a href="/facts/Aeroshell/PeBuDlpv">Aeroshell</a>, <a href="/facts/Gravity_turn/BXXg8alV">Gravity turn</a>, and <a href="/facts/Orbital_injection/l8oQMJe4">Orbital injection</a>
<h3>Heat shield</h3>
See also: <a href="/facts/Atmospheric_entry/p7TMk9sa">Atmospheric entry § Thermal protection systems</a>
With possible inflatable <a href="/facts/Heat_shield/YvRhkzAz">heat shields</a>, as developed by the US (Low Earth Orbit Flight Test Inflatable Decelerator - LOFTID)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a> and China,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> single-use rockets like the <a href="/facts/Space_Launch_System/DbGCgH1W">Space Launch System</a> are considered to be retrofitted with such heat shields to salvage the expensive engines, possibly reducing the costs of launches significantly.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a> Heat shields allow an orbiting spacecraft to land safely without expending very much fuel. They need not take the form of inflatable heat shields, they may simply take the form of heat-resistant tiles that prevent <a href="/facts/Heat_conduction/5vRktgcS">heat conduction</a>. Heat shields are also proposed for use in combination with retrograde thrust to allow for full reusability as seen in <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship_(spacecraft)/FGWc9PxL">Starship</a>.

<h3>Retrograde thrust</h3>
Main articles: <a href="/facts/Retrorocket/AQgbGTjr">Retrorocket</a> and <a href="/facts/Thrust_reversal/looMLCnL">Thrust reversal</a>
Reusable launch system stages such as the <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a> and the <a href="/facts/New_Shepard/QpzbYepM">New Shepard</a> employ retrograde burns for re-entry, and landing.

<h2 id="landing-systems">Landing systems</h2>
Reusable systems can come in <a href="/facts/Single-stage-to-orbit/4qPbu35V">single</a> or multiple 
(<a href="/facts/Two-stage-to-orbit/rD0nmgs0">two</a> or <a href="/facts/Three-stage-to-orbit/WNrmgztj">three</a>) stages to orbit configurations. For some or all stages the following landing system types can be employed.

<h3>Types</h3>
<h4>Parachutes and airbags</h4>
Main articles: <a href="/facts/Splashdown/XAn6QTyp">Splashdown</a>, <a href="/facts/Airbag/fIygARIw">Airbag § Spacecraft airbag landing systems</a>, and <a href="/facts/Parachute/598qrAdg">Parachute</a>
See also: <a href="/facts/Water_landing/MHgaT7rL">Water landing</a>
These are landing systems that employ parachutes and bolstered hard landings, like in a <a href="/facts/Splashdown/XAn6QTyp">splashdown</a> at sea or a touchdown at land. The latter may require an engine burn just before landing as parachutes alone cannot slow the craft down enough to prevent injury to astronauts. This can be seen in the Soyuz capsule.
Though such systems have been in use since the beginning of <a href="/facts/Astronautics/uT1nlI0F">astronautics</a> to recover space vehicles, only later have the vehicles been reused.
E.g.:

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Boosters/ETayF0Xh">Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/SpaceX_Dragon/oduVLMWr">SpaceX Dragon capsule</a></li></ul>
<h4>Horizontal (winged)</h4>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Spaceplane/oMJNJPy7">Spaceplane</a>
Single or main stages, as well as fly-back boosters can employ a horizontal landing system. These vehicles land on earth much like a plane does, but they usually do not use propellant during landing.
Examples are:

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_orbiter/pD50Txk9">Space Shuttle orbiter</a> - as part of the main stage</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Buran_(spacecraft)/s0nNfe61">Buran spaceplane</a> - acted as an orbital insertion stage, however <a href="/facts/Polyus_(spacecraft)/bF6uMjLa">Polyus</a> could also be used as a second stage for the <a href="/facts/Energia_(rocket)/snJSoyMA">Energia</a> launch vehicle.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Venturestar/HfchW0vm">Venturestar</a> - a project of <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Studied_Space_Shuttle_designs/T8yytGVm">Space Shuttle's studied fly-back booster</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Energia_(rocket)/snJSoyMA">Energia II ("Uragan")</a> - an alternative <a href="/facts/Buran_(spacecraft)/s0nNfe61">Buran</a> launch system concept</li>
<li><a href="/facts/OK-GLI/5JWqGrbd">OK-GLI</a> - another <a href="/facts/Buran_(spacecraft)/s0nNfe61">Buran</a> spacecraft version</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Liquid_Fly-back_Booster/YGgFfcP1">Liquid Fly-back Booster</a> - a German concept</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Baikal_(rocket_booster)/kNteLlWR">Baikal</a> - a former Russian project</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Reusable_Booster_System/Jl4mxjzj">Reusable Booster System</a> - a U.S. research project</li>
<li><a href="/facts/SpaceShipTwo/IAAHm6Qx">SpaceShipTwo</a> - a <a href="/facts/Spaceplane/oMJNJPy7">spaceplane</a> for <a href="/facts/Space_tourism/fMK9CcnM">space tourism</a> made by <a href="/facts/Virgin_Galactic/BrJavxml">Virgin Galactic</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/SpaceShipThree/hBrkmDjv">SpaceShipThree</a> - a <a href="/facts/Spaceplane/oMJNJPy7">spaceplane</a> under development for <a href="/facts/Space_tourism/fMK9CcnM">space tourism</a> made by <a href="/facts/Virgin_Galactic/BrJavxml">Virgin Galactic</a></li>
<li>Dawn Mk-II Aurora - a <a href="/facts/Spaceplane/oMJNJPy7">spaceplane</a> under development by <a href="/facts/Dawn_Aerospace/j5WfIQsz">Dawn Aerospace</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/XS-1_(spacecraft)/2qyHPx2d">XS-1</a> - another U.S. research project</li>
<li><a href="/facts/RLV-TD/bScJhFXQ">RLV-TD</a> - an ongoing Indian project</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Reaction_Engines/X5lDckBh">Reaction Engines</a> <a href="/facts/Skylon_(spacecraft)/b8YIGYjn">Skylon</a> <a href="/facts/SSTO/4qPbu35V">SSTO</a></li></ul>
A variant is an in-air-capture tow back system, advocated by a company called EMBENTION with its FALCon project.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a>
Vehicles that land horizontally on a runway require wings and undercarriage. These typically consume about 9-12% of the landing vehicle mass, which either reduces the payload or increases the size of the vehicle. Concepts such as <a href="/facts/Lifting_bodies/SHHlbp5B">lifting bodies</a> offer some reduction in wing mass, as does the <a href="/facts/Delta_wing/qM5lRjJ3">delta wing</a> shape of the <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a>.

<h4>Vertical (retrograde)</h4>
Main articles: <a href="/facts/VTVL/wqg2WnRq">VTVL</a>, <a href="/facts/Retrorocket/AQgbGTjr">Retrorocket</a>, and <a href="/facts/Thrust_reversal/looMLCnL">Thrust reversal</a>
Systems like the <a href="/facts/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X/Eka8jVUS">McDonnell Douglas DC-X (Delta Clipper)</a> and those by <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a> are examples of a retrograde system.
The boosters of <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a> and <a href="/facts/Falcon_Heavy/vh7so7BW">Falcon Heavy</a> land using one of their nine engines. The <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a> rocket is the first orbital rocket to vertically land its first stage on the ground. The first stage of <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship/zkm1P9kA">Starship</a> is planned to land vertically, while the second is to be caught by arms after performing most of the typical steps of a retrograde landing. <a href="/facts/Blue_Origin/CxFvEmDr">Blue Origin</a>'s <a href="/facts/New_Shepard/QpzbYepM">New Shepard</a> suborbital rocket also lands vertically back at the launch site.
Retrograde landing typically requires about 10% of the total first stage propellant, reducing the payload that can be carried due to the <a href="/facts/Rocket_equation/S4HGsd56">rocket equation</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a>

<h4>Landing using aerostatic force</h4>
There is also the concept of a launch vehicle with an inflatable, reusable first stage. The shape of this structure will be supported by excess internal pressure (using light gases). It is assumed that the bulk density of the first stage (without propellant) is less than the bulk density of air. Upon returning from flight, such a first stage remains floating in the air (without touching the surface of the Earth). This will ensure that the first stage is retained for reuse. Increasing the size of the first stage increases aerodynamic losses. This results in a slight decrease in payload. This reduction in payload is compensated for by the reuse of the first stage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a>

<h2 id="constraints">Constraints</h2>
<h3>Extra weight</h3>
Reusable stages weigh more than equivalent <a href="/facts/Expendable_launch_vehicle/CaW43W5z">expendable stages</a>. This is unavoidable due to the supplementary systems, landing gear and/or surplus propellant needed to land a stage. The actual mass penalty depends on the vehicle and the return mode chosen.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a>

<h3>Refurbishment</h3>
After the launcher lands, it may need to be refurbished to prepare it for its next flight. This process may be lengthy and expensive. The launcher may not be able to be recertified as human-rated after refurbishment, although SpaceX has flown reused Falcon 9 boosters for human missions. There is eventually a limit on how many times a launcher can be refurbished before it has to be retired, but how often a launcher can be reused differs significantly between the various launch system designs.

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
With the development of <a href="/facts/Rocket_propulsion/KmpMGU9u">rocket propulsion</a> in the first half of the twentieth century, <a href="/facts/Spaceflight/zPrnATzo">space travel</a> became a technical possibility.
Early ideas of a single-stage reusable <a href="/facts/Spaceplane/oMJNJPy7">spaceplane</a> proved unrealistic and although even the first practical rocket vehicles (<a href="/facts/V-2/8WHk8jsw">V-2</a>) could reach the fringes of space, reusable technology was too heavy. In addition, many early rockets were developed to deliver weapons, making reuse impossible by design. The problem of mass efficiency was overcome by using multiple expendable stages in a vertical launch <a href="/facts/Multistage_rocket/WNrmgztj">multistage rocket</a>. USAF and NACA had been studying orbital reusable spaceplanes since 1958, e.g. <a href="/facts/Dyna-Soar/1Ma9pPvd">Dyna-Soar</a>, but the first reusable stages did not fly until the advent of the US <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a> in 1981.

<h3>20th century</h3>

Perhaps the first reusable launch vehicles were the ones conceptualized and studied by <a href="/facts/Wernher_von_Braun/pzhbJTCj">Wernher von Braun</a> from 1948 until 1956. The <a href="/facts/Von_Braun_ferry_rocket/xJ7mM0bJ">von Braun ferry rocket</a> underwent two revisions: once in 1952 and again in 1956. They would have landed using parachutes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a>
The <a href="/facts/General_Dynamics_Nexus/c0l44yTd">General Dynamics Nexus</a> was proposed in the 1960s as a fully reusable successor to the Saturn V rocket, having the capacity of transporting up to 450–910 t (990,000–2,000,000 lb) to orbit.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25">25</a> See also <a href="/facts/Sea_Dragon_(rocket)/s604IAJR">Sea Dragon</a>, and <a href="/facts/Douglas_SASSTO/p8yjYQgH">Douglas SASSTO</a>.
The <a href="/facts/BAC_Mustard/dFPAdRmw">BAC Mustard</a> was studied starting in 1964. It would have comprised three identical spaceplanes strapped together and arranged in two stages. During ascent the two outer spaceplanes, which formed the first stage, would detach and glide back individually to earth. It was canceled after the last study of the design in 1967 due to a lack of funds for development.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26">26</a>
NASA started the <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_design_process/9xCMKc0L">Space Shuttle design process</a> in 1968, with the vision of creating a fully reusable <a href="/facts/Spaceplane/oMJNJPy7">spaceplane</a> using a crewed <a href="/facts/LFBB_(NASA)/T8yytGVm">fly-back booster</a>. This concept proved expensive and complex, therefore the design was scaled back to reusable <a href="/facts/Solid_rocket/RpgdYKIU">solid rocket</a> boosters and an expendable <a href="/facts/External_tank/RApJkcAq">external tank</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27">27</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28">28</a> Space Shuttle <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Columbia/uF51RXWM">Columbia</a> launched and landed 27 times and was lost with all crew on the 28th landing attempt; <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Challenger/K4dGtVCC">Challenger</a> launched and landed 9 times and was lost with all crew on the 10th launch attempt; <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Discovery/MmSTr4G0">Discovery</a> launched and landed 39 times; <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Atlantis/3NQUThEB">Atlantis</a> launched and landed 33 times; <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Endeavour/fcX8nN5Q">Endeavour</a> launched and landed 25 times.
In 1986 President <a href="/facts/Ronald_Reagan/z6AaKAad">Ronald Reagan</a> called for an air-breathing <a href="/facts/Scramjet/2PdT7gKc">scramjet</a> <a href="/facts/National_Aerospace_Plane/jMGm3cCq">National Aerospace Plane</a> (NASP)/<a href="/facts/X-30/jMGm3cCq">X-30</a>. The project failed due to technical issues and was canceled in 1993.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29">29</a>
In the late 1980s a fully reusable version of the <a href="/facts/Energia_(rocket)/snJSoyMA">Energia</a> rocket, the Energia II, was proposed. Its boosters and core would have had the capability of landing separately on a runway.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30">30</a>
In the 1990s the <a href="/facts/McDonnell_Douglas/cplglcRH">McDonnell Douglas</a> <a href="/facts/Delta_Clipper/Eka8jVUS">Delta Clipper</a> VTOL SSTO proposal progressed to the testing phase. The <a href="/facts/DC-X/Eka8jVUS">DC-X</a> prototype demonstrated rapid turnaround time and automatic computer control.
In mid-1990s, British research evolved an earlier <a href="/facts/HOTOL/do33C6Pf">HOTOL</a> design into the far more promising <a href="/facts/Skylon_(spacecraft)/b8YIGYjn">Skylon</a> design, which remained in development until 2024 when the company developing Skylon went bankrupt.
From the late 1990s to the 2000s, the <a href="/facts/European_Space_Agency/L8YRNV0C">European Space Agency</a> studied the recovery of the <a href="/facts/Ariane_5/H78wlLG4">Ariane 5</a> <a href="/facts/Solid_rocket/RpgdYKIU">solid rocket</a> boosters.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31">31</a> The last recovery attempt took place in 2009.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32">32</a>
The commercial ventures, <a href="/facts/Rocketplane_Kistler/gf6ucquI">Rocketplane Kistler</a> and <a href="/facts/Rotary_Rocket/8UldqDWp">Rotary Rocket</a>, attempted to build reusable privately developed rockets before going bankrupt.
NASA proposed reusable concepts to replace the Shuttle technology, to be demonstrated under the <a href="/facts/X-33/yFcAGx1A">X-33</a> and <a href="/facts/X-34/oyzRGSyT">X-34</a> programs, which were both cancelled in the early 2000s due to rising costs and technical issues.

<h3>21st century</h3>

The <a href="/facts/Ansari_X_Prize/P96UQnU1">Ansari X Prize</a> contest was intended to develop private suborbital reusable vehicles. Many private companies competed, with the winner, <a href="/facts/Scaled_Composites/lnDfbH6d">Scaled Composites</a>, reaching the <a href="/facts/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line/CfvQ3fbp">Kármán line</a> twice in a two-week period with their reusable <a href="/facts/SpaceShipOne/80LUjFgH">SpaceShipOne</a>.
In 2012, <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a> started a flight test program with <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Grasshopper/34M7FDsE">experimental vehicles</a>. These subsequently led to the development of the <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a> reusable rocket launcher.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33">33</a>
On 23 November 2015 the <a href="/facts/New_Shepard/QpzbYepM">New Shepard</a> rocket became the first <a href="/facts/VTVL/wqg2WnRq">Vertical Take-off, Vertical Landing</a> (VTVL) sub-orbital rocket to reach space by passing the <a href="/facts/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line/CfvQ3fbp">Kármán line</a> (100 km or 62 mi), reaching 329,839 ft (100,535 m) before returning for a propulsive landing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34">34</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35">35</a>
SpaceX achieved the first vertical soft landing of a reusable orbital rocket stage on December 21, 2015, after delivering 11 <a href="/facts/Orbcomm_OG-2/m7kDPNr3">Orbcomm OG-2</a> commercial satellites into <a href="/facts/Low_Earth_orbit/rq1TwayJ">low Earth orbit</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36">36</a>
The first reuse of a Falcon 9 first stage occurred on 30 March 2017.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37">37</a> SpaceX now routinely recovers and reuses <a href="/facts/SpaceX_reusable_launch_system_development_program/kuah4fl8">their first stages, as well as reusing fairings</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38">38</a>
In 2019 <a href="/facts/Rocket_Lab/o5Wlgg6P">Rocket Lab</a> announced plans to recover and reuse the first stage of their <a href="/facts/Electron_(rocket)/wmMhl3aA">Electron</a> launch vehicle, intending to use <a href="/facts/Parachute/598qrAdg">parachutes</a> and <a href="/facts/Mid-air_retrieval/K3N5a20m">mid-air retrieval</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39">39</a> On 20 November 2020, Rocket Lab successfully returned an Electron first stage from an orbital launch, the stage softly splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40">40</a>
China is researching the reusability of the <a href="/facts/Long_March_8/KDwuRJSs">Long March 8</a> system.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41">41</a>
As of May 2020<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reusable_launch_vehicle&action=edit">[update]</a>, the only operational reusable orbital-class launch systems are the Falcon 9 and <a href="/facts/Falcon_Heavy/vh7so7BW">Falcon Heavy</a>, the latter of which is based upon the Falcon 9. SpaceX is also developing the fully reusable <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship/zkm1P9kA">Starship</a> launch system.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42">42</a> <a href="/facts/Blue_Origin/CxFvEmDr">Blue Origin</a> is developing its own <a href="/facts/New_Glenn/zu8UwR3P">New Glenn</a> partially reusable orbital rocket, as it is intending to recover and reuse only the first stage.
5 October 2020, Roscosmos signed a development contract for <a href="/facts/Amur_(launch_vehicle)/9Fmfa4B9">Amur</a> a new launcher with a reusable first stage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43">43</a>
In December 2020, ESA signed contracts to start developing <a href="/facts/Themis_programme/R14AvW0m">THEMIS</a>, a prototype reusable first stage launcher.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44">44</a>

<h2 id="return-to-launch-site">Return to launch site</h2>
After 1980, but before the 2010s, two orbital launch vehicles developed the capability to return to the launch site (RTLS). Both the US <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a>—with one of its <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_abort_modes/AAwsIPm9">abort modes</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45">45</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46">46</a>—and the Soviet <a href="/facts/Buran_(spacecraft)/s0nNfe61">Buran</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47">47</a>
had a designed-in capability to return a part of the launch vehicle to the launch site via the mechanism of <a href="/facts/HTHL/F3fMMCxa">horizontal-landing</a> of the <a href="/facts/Spaceplane/oMJNJPy7">spaceplane</a> portion of the launch vehicle. In both cases, the main vehicle thrust structure and the large propellant tank were <a href="/facts/Expendable_launch_vehicle/CaW43W5z">expendable</a>, as had been the standard procedure for all orbital launch vehicles flown prior to that time. Both were subsequently demonstrated on actual orbital nominal flights, although both also had an abort mode during launch that could conceivably allow the crew to land the spaceplane following an off-nominal launch.
In the 2000s, both <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a> and <a href="/facts/Blue_Origin/CxFvEmDr">Blue Origin</a> have <a href="/facts/Private_spaceflight/9rSz8Lhh">privately developed</a> a set of technologies to support <a href="/facts/Vertical_landing/wqg2WnRq">vertical landing</a> of the booster stage of a launch vehicle. 
After 2010, SpaceX undertook a <a href="/facts/SpaceX_reusable_launch_system_development_program/kuah4fl8">development program</a> to acquire the ability to bring back and <a href="/facts/VTVL/wqg2WnRq">vertically land</a> a part of the <a href="/facts/Falcon_9_FT/L5HWctap">Falcon 9</a> <a href="/facts/Orbital_spaceflight/xdzKmkvt">orbital</a> launch vehicle: the <a href="/facts/First_stage_(rocketry)/WNrmgztj">first stage</a>. The first successful landing was done in December 2015,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48">48</a> since then several additional rocket stages landed either at a <a href="/facts/Landing_Zones_1_and_2/cEoRJoJ3">landing pad</a> adjacent to the launch site or on a <a href="/facts/Autonomous_Spaceport_Drone_Ship/yI2SR495">landing platform</a> at sea, some distance away from the launch site.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49">49</a> The <a href="/facts/Falcon_Heavy/vh7so7BW">Falcon Heavy</a> is similarly designed to reuse the three cores comprising its first stage. On its <a href="/facts/Falcon_Heavy_test_flight/5EQLxWWy">first flight</a> in February 2018, the two outer cores successfully returned to the launch site landing pads while the center core targeted the landing platform at sea but did not successfully land on it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50">50</a>
<a href="/facts/Blue_Origin/CxFvEmDr">Blue Origin</a> developed similar technologies for bringing back and landing their <a href="/facts/Suborbital/NdLRlGIq">suborbital</a> <a href="/facts/New_Shepard/QpzbYepM">New Shepard</a>, and successfully demonstrated return in 2015, and successfully reused the same booster on a second suborbital flight in January 2016.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51">51</a> By October 2016, Blue had reflown, and landed successfully, that same launch vehicle a total of five times.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52">52</a> It must however be noted that the launch trajectories of both vehicles are very different, with New Shepard going straight up and down without achieving orbital flight, whereas Falcon 9 has to cancel substantial horizontal velocity and return from a significant distance downrange, while delivering the payload to orbit with the second stage.
Both Blue Origin and SpaceX also have additional reusable launch vehicles under development. Blue is developing the first stage of the orbital <a href="/facts/New_Glenn/zu8UwR3P">New Glenn</a> LV to be reusable, with first flight planned for no earlier than 2024. 
SpaceX has a new super-heavy launch vehicle under development for missions to <a href="/facts/Interplanetary_spaceflight/4HGDAA2g">interplanetary space</a>. The <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship/zkm1P9kA">SpaceX Starship</a> is designed to support RTLS, vertical-landing and full reuse of both the booster stage and the integrated second-stage/large-spacecraft that are designed for use with Starship.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53">53</a> Its <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship_integrated_flight_test_1/PdjvjIyV">first launch attempt</a> took place in April 2023; however, both stages were lost during ascent. On the <a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship_integrated_flight_test_4/4wmW3B9h">fourth launch attempt</a> however, both the booster and the ship achieved a soft landing in the <a href="/facts/Gulf_of_Mexico/bGE5s57G">Gulf of Mexico</a> and the <a href="/facts/Indian_Ocean/Kv0crwKG">Indian Ocean</a>, respectively.

<h2 id="list-of-reusable-launch-vehicles">List of reusable launch vehicles</h2>
<table><tbody><tr><th>Company</th><th>Vehicle</th><th>Reusable Component</th><th>Launched</th><th>Recovered</th><th>Reflown</th><th>Payload to LEO</th><th>First Launch</th><th>Status</th></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a></td><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_orbiter/pD50Txk9">Orbiter</a></td><td>135</td><td>133</td><td>130</td><td rowspan="2">27,500 kg</td><td rowspan="2">1981</td><td rowspan="2">Retired (2011)</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Booster/ETayF0Xh">Side booster</a></td><td>270</td><td>266</td><td>N/A<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54">54</a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Ares_I/rTecoQ5S">Ares I</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>25,400 kg</td><td>2009</td><td>Retired (2010)</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a></td><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a></td><td><a href="/facts/List_of_Falcon_9_first-stage_boosters/uIA83cHY">First stage</a></td><td>461</td><td>411</td><td>385</td><td rowspan="2">17,500 kg (reusable)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55">55</a>22,800 kg (expended)</td><td rowspan="2">2010</td><td rowspan="2">Active</td></tr><tr><td>Fairing half</td><td>>486<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:56" href="#fn:56">56</a></td><td colspan="2">>300 (Falcon 9 and Heavy)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:57" href="#fn:57">57</a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a><a href="/facts/New_Zealand/4mpSlJdg"></a> <a href="/facts/Rocket_Lab/o5Wlgg6P">Rocket Lab</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Electron_(rocket)/wmMhl3aA">Electron</a></td><td><a href="/facts/List_of_Electron_first_stages/lM9jgEoF">First stage</a></td><td>63</td><td>9</td><td>0<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:58" href="#fn:58">58</a></td><td>325 kg (expended)</td><td>2017</td><td>Active, reflight planned</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3"><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a></td><td rowspan="3"><a href="/facts/Falcon_Heavy/vh7so7BW">Falcon Heavy</a></td><td>Side booster</td><td>22</td><td>18</td><td>14</td><td rowspan="3">~33,000 kg (all cores reusable)63,800 kg (expended)</td><td rowspan="3">2018</td><td rowspan="3">Active</td></tr><tr><td>Center core</td><td>11</td><td>0<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:59" href="#fn:59">59</a></td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Fairing half</td><td>>18<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:60" href="#fn:60">60</a></td><td colspan="2">>300 (Falcon 9 and Heavy)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:61" href="#fn:61">61</a></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a></td><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship/zkm1P9kA">Starship</a></td><td><a href="/facts/SpaceX_Super_Heavy/wXKtwRfS">First stage</a></td><td>8</td><td>3</td><td>0<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:62" href="#fn:62">62</a></td><td rowspan="2">50,000-100,000 kg (Block 1)100,000-150,000 kg (Block 2)200,000 kg (Block 3)</td><td rowspan="2">2023</td><td rowspan="2">Active, reflight planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/SpaceX_Starship_(spacecraft)/FGWc9PxL">Second stage</a></td><td>8</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/United_Launch_Alliance/yWev1ndb">United Launch Alliance</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Vulcan_Centaur/ItQaJHkk">Vulcan Centaur</a></td><td>First stage engine module</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>27,200 kg</td><td>2024</td><td>Active, recovery planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/Space_Pioneer/78FNCudN">Space Pioneer</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Space_Pioneer/78FNCudN">Tianlong-3</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>17,000 kg</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Blue_Origin/CxFvEmDr">Blue Origin</a></td><td><a href="/facts/New_Glenn/zu8UwR3P">New Glenn</a></td><td>First stage, fairing</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>45,000 kg</td><td>2025</td><td>Active, recovery planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/Galactic_Energy/hBKfs22b">Galactic Energy</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Pallas-1/PVJWsA3K">Pallas-1</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>5,000 kg</td><td>2024</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/Deep_Blue_Aerospace/A8aaUtjP">Deep Blue Aerospace</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Nebula_1/A8aaUtjP">Nebula 1</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>2,000 kg</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/South_Korea/pCobAaVw"></a> <a href="/facts/Perigee_Aerospace/jSoKb3zp">Perigee Aerospace</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Perigee_Aerospace/jSoKb3zp">Blue Whale 1</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>170 kg</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a><a href="/facts/New_Zealand/4mpSlJdg"></a> <a href="/facts/Rocket_Lab/o5Wlgg6P">Rocket Lab</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Neutron_(rocket)/nXdmteyP">Neutron</a></td><td>First stage (includes fairing)</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>13,000 kg (reusable)15,000 kg (expended)</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Stoke_Space/VGeLTl07">Stoke Space</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Nova_(fully_reusable_launch_vehicle)/I6qdTuDW">Nova</a></td><td>Fully reusable</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>3,000 kg (reusable)5,000 kg (stage 2 expended)7,000 kg (fully expended)</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/CAS_Space/fvNAv16j">CAS Space</a></td><td>Kinetica-2</td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>12,000 kg</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/I-Space_(Chinese_company)/lyfjoyY9">I-space</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Hyperbola-3/lyfjoyY9">Hyperbola-3</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>8,300 kg (reusable)13,400 kg (expended)</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/LandSpace/7b2NsldB">LandSpace</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Zhuque-3/7b2NsldB">Zhuque-3</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>18,300 kg (reusable)21,300 kg (expended)</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/China_Academy_of_Launch_Vehicle_Technology/Fk9qsPBf">CALT</a></td><td>Long March 12B</td><td>First Stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td></td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/Deep_Blue_Aerospace/A8aaUtjP">Deep Blue Aerospace</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Deep_Blue_Aerospace/A8aaUtjP">Nebula 2</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>20,000 kg</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/Orienspace/v4fewg7V">Orienspace</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Orienspace/v4fewg7V">Gravity-2</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>17,400 kg (reusable)21,500 kg(expended)</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Russia/jfkCwyxn"></a> <a href="/facts/Roscosmos/GzWfae7U">Roscosmos</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Amur_(launch_vehicle)/9Fmfa4B9">Amur</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>10,500 kg</td><td>2026</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Relativity_Space/7jjIhkvW">Relativity Space</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Terran_R/7jjIhkvW">Terran R</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>23,500 kg (reusable)33,500 kg (expended)</td><td>2026</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY"></a> <a href="/facts/PLD_Space/VgMxpB7F">PLD Space</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Miura_5/AMDUE5DS">Miura 5</a></td><td>First stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>900 kg</td><td>2026</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/Space_Pioneer/78FNCudN">Space Pioneer</a></td><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/Space_Pioneer/78FNCudN">Tianlong-3H</a></td><td>Side booster</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td rowspan="2">68,000 kg (expended)</td><td rowspan="2">2026</td><td rowspan="2">Planned</td></tr><tr><td>Center core</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/Orienspace/v4fewg7V">Orienspace</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Orienspace/v4fewg7V">Gravity-3</a></td><td>First stage, fairing</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>30,600 kg</td><td>2027</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/China_Academy_of_Launch_Vehicle_Technology/Fk9qsPBf">CALT</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Long_March_10A/uIWW37LK">Long March 10A</a></td><td>First Stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>14,000 kg (reusable)18,000 kg (expended)</td><td>2027</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/China_Academy_of_Launch_Vehicle_Technology/Fk9qsPBf">CALT</a></td><td rowspan="2"><a href="/facts/Long_March_9/fo3YroxX">Long March 9</a></td><td>First Stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td rowspan="2">100,000 kg</td><td rowspan="2">2033</td><td rowspan="2">Planned</td></tr><tr><td>Second Stage</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2 id="list-of-reusable-spacecraft">List of reusable spacecraft</h2>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Reusable_spacecraft/RKXsxAUj">Reusable spacecraft § List of reusable spacecraft</a>
<table><tbody><tr><th>Company</th><th>Spacecraft</th><th>Launch Vehicle</th><th>Launched</th><th>Recovered</th><th>Reflown</th><th>Launch Mass</th><th>First Launch</th><th>Status</th></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_orbiter/pD50Txk9">Space Shuttle orbiter</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a></td><td>135</td><td>133</td><td>130</td><td>110,000 kg</td><td>1981</td><td>Retired (2011)</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto"></a> <a href="/facts/Energia_(corporation)/fThW3H3L">NPO-Energia</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Buran_(spacecraft)/s0nNfe61">Buran</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Energia_(rocket)/snJSoyMA">Energia</a></td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>92,000 kg</td><td>1988</td><td>Retired (1988)</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Boeing/tF5sMe9F">Boeing</a></td><td><a href="/facts/X-37/yVpEholX">X-37</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Atlas_V/5SNgegyt">Atlas V</a>, <a href="/facts/Falcon_9/mNck6vby">Falcon 9</a>, <a href="/facts/Falcon_Heavy/vh7so7BW">Falcon Heavy</a></td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>5,000 kg</td><td>2010</td><td>Active</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/SpaceX/2tKHsVdJ">SpaceX</a></td><td><a href="/facts/SpaceX_Dragon/oduVLMWr">Dragon</a></td><td>Falcon 9</td><td>51</td><td>49</td><td>30</td><td>12,519 kg</td><td>2010</td><td>Active</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Orion_(spacecraft)/nh8VQRpD">Orion</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Space_Launch_System/DbGCgH1W">Space Launch System</a></td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>10,400 kg (excluding service module and abort system)</td><td>2014</td><td>Active, reflight planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Boeing/tF5sMe9F">Boeing</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Boeing_Starliner/VHmM9Yp7">Starliner</a></td><td>Atlas V</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>13,000 kg</td><td>2019</td><td>Active</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/China_Aerospace_Science_and_Technology_Corporation/C1QT8Dvv">CASC</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Shenlong_(spacecraft)/n5csYcCP">Shenlong (spacecraft)</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Long_March_2F/JSztWT6A">Long March 2F</a></td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>unknown</td><td>unknown</td><td>2020</td><td>Active, reusability unknown</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Sierra_Space/xudLvSNd">Sierra Space</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Dream_Chaser/vfXrKLh7">Dream Chaser</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Vulcan_Centaur/ItQaJHkk">Vulcan Centaur</a></td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>9,000 kg</td><td>2025</td><td>Planned</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p"></a> <a href="/facts/China_Academy_of_Space_Technology/m6a1tVXG">CAST</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Mengzhou_(spacecraft)/9dNoIaTQ">Mengzhou</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Long_March_10A/uIWW37LK">Long March 10A</a></td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>14,000 kg</td><td>2027</td><td>Planned</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2 id="list-of-reusable-suborbital-vehicles">List of reusable suborbital vehicles</h2>
<table><tbody><tr><th>Company</th><th>Vehicle</th><th>First launch to space</th><th>Launches to space (only successful launches counted)</th><th>Recovered from space (only successful recoveries counted)</th><th>Reflown to space (only successful launches counted)</th><th>Notes</th></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Blue_Origin/CxFvEmDr">Blue Origin</a></td><td><a href="/facts/New_Shepard/QpzbYepM">New Shepard</a></td><td>2015</td><td>27</td><td>26</td><td>22</td><td>Fully reusable. Active as of December 2024. Of the 27 (successful) launches to space, 3 were to an altitude over 80km (USAF/NASA limit for space) but below 100km (international limit for space) and 24 to an altitude over 100km.</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Virgin_Galactic/BrJavxml">Virgin Galactic</a></td><td><a href="/facts/SpaceShipTwo/IAAHm6Qx">SpaceShipTwo</a> (<a href="/facts/VSS_Unity/ooUekxsP">VSS Unity</a>)</td><td>2018</td><td>12</td><td>12</td><td>11</td><td>Fully reusable. Retired in 2024. Only flew to above 80km (USAF/NASA limit for space) but not above 100km (international limit for space).</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/Mojave_Aerospace_Ventures/hqaxtLIx">Mojave Aerospace Ventures</a>/<a href="/facts/Scaled_Composites/lnDfbH6d">Scaled Composites</a></td><td><a href="/facts/SpaceShipOne/80LUjFgH">SpaceShipOne</a></td><td>2004</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>Fully reusable. Retired in 2004. Of the 3 (successful) launches to space, all were to an altitude over 100km (international limit for space).</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5"></a> <a href="/facts/North_American_Aviation/zY6IG0pa">North American Aviation</a>/<a href="/facts/USAF/7MxWBYlc">USAF</a>/<a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a></td><td><a href="/facts/North_American_X-15/btDgcYKz">North American X-15</a></td><td>1962</td><td>13</td><td>12</td><td>11</td><td>Fully reusable. Retired in 1968. Of the 13 (successful) launches to space, 2 were to an altitude over 100km (international limit for space) and 11 to an altitude over 80km (USAF/NASA limit for space) but below 100km.</td></tr></tbody></table>
List updated 1 December 2024.

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Reusable_spacecraft/RKXsxAUj">Reusable spacecraft</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/SpaceX_reusable_launch_system_development_program/kuah4fl8">SpaceX reusable launch system development program</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/List_of_private_spaceflight_companies/wTzn5Xax">List of private spaceflight companies</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Takeoff_and_landing/F3fMMCxa">Takeoff and landing</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/entry-descent-landing/">Mars Descent Vehicle</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/entry-descent-landing/">Mars Ascent Vehicle</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Lunar_Lander_(spacecraft)/TamRxdxu">Lunar Lander</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2>
<ul><li>Heribert Kuczera, et al.: Reusable space transportation systems. Springer, Berlin 2011, <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-3-540-89180-2.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reusable launch systems.

<ul><li><a href="http://www.ikonet.com/en/visualdictionary/astronomy/astronautics/space-shuttle/space-shuttle-at-takeoff.php">Illustration of a Space Shuttle at takeoff and Orbiter</a> (Visual Dictionary - QAInternational)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Lunar_lander/M6UsNnXY">Lunar Lander Module</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Dawn Aerospace unveils the Mk II Aurora suborbital space plane, capable of multiple same-day flights". TechCrunch. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-19. <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/28/dawn-aerospace-unveils-the-mk-ii-aurora-suborbital-space-plane-capable-of-multiple-same-day-flights/" target="_blank">https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/28/dawn-aerospace-unveils-the-mk-ii-aurora-suborbital-space-plane-capable-of-multiple-same-day-flights/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Davenport, Justin (2024-05-09). "Space Coast looks toward the future with port and factory expansions". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2024-05-15. <a href="https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/05/cape-flyover-may-2024/" target="_blank">https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/05/cape-flyover-may-2024/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Wattles, Jackie; Strickland, Ashley (2023-04-20). "SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off for inaugural test flight but explodes midair". CNN. Retrieved 2023-04-29. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/20/world/spacex-starship-launch-thursday-scn/index.html" target="_blank">https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/20/world/spacex-starship-launch-thursday-scn/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Berger, Eric (27 July 2021). "Blue Origin has a secret project named "Jarvis" to compete with SpaceX". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021. <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/blue-origin-is-developing-reusable-second-stage-other-advanced-projects/" target="_blank">https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/blue-origin-is-developing-reusable-second-stage-other-advanced-projects/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"STOKE Space Raises $65M Series A to Make Space Access Sustainable and Scalable". www.businesswire.com. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2023-02-05. <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211215005168/en/STOKE-Space-Raises-65M-Series-A-to-Make-Space-Access-Sustainable-and-Scalable" target="_blank">https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211215005168/en/STOKE-Space-Raises-65M-Series-A-to-Make-Space-Access-Sustainable-and-Scalable</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Sesnic, Trevor; Volosín, Juan I. Morales (2023-02-04). "Full Reusability By Stoke Space". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 2023-02-05. <a href="https://everydayastronaut.com/stoke-space/" target="_blank">https://everydayastronaut.com/stoke-space/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"SpaceX Flies IFT-4, Achieves Super Heavy, Starship Controlled Splashdowns - AmericaSpace". www.americaspace.com. 2024-06-06. Retrieved 2024-06-10. <a href="https://www.americaspace.com/2024/06/06/spacex-flies-ift-4-achieves-super-heavy-starship-splashdowns/" target="_blank">https://www.americaspace.com/2024/06/06/spacex-flies-ift-4-achieves-super-heavy-starship-splashdowns/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Reyes, Tim (October 17, 2014). "Balloon launcher Zero2Infinity Sets Its Sights to the Stars". Universe Today. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2015. <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/115391/balloon-launcher-zero2infinity-sets-its-sights-to-the-stars/" target="_blank">http://www.universetoday.com/115391/balloon-launcher-zero2infinity-sets-its-sights-to-the-stars/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">"ESA plans demonstration of a reusable rocket stage". 15 December 2020. <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/ESA_plans_demonstration_of_a_reusable_rocket_stage" target="_blank">https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/ESA_plans_demonstration_of_a_reusable_rocket_stage</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"Everything you need to know about Themis". 26 June 2023. <a href="https://europeanspaceflight.substack.com/p/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ddb" target="_blank">https://europeanspaceflight.substack.com/p/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ddb</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Muir, Hazel (15 January 2006). "Pinch of comet dust lands safely on Earth". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018. <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8586-pinch-of-comet-dust-lands-safely-on-earth/" target="_blank">https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8586-pinch-of-comet-dust-lands-safely-on-earth/</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"Mission Accomplished For Japan's Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa". Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100616232222/http://indyposted.com/27014/mission-accomplished-for-japans-asteroid-explorer-hayabusa/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100616232222/http://indyposted.com/27014/mission-accomplished-for-japans-asteroid-explorer-hayabusa/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Space Probe, Perhaps with a Chunk of Asteroid, Returns to Earth Sunday". Space.com. 13 June 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100616062115/http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/hayabusa-asteroid-probe-landing-preview-100613.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100616062115/http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/hayabusa-asteroid-probe-landing-preview-100613.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Clark, Stephen. "Cargo manifest for SpaceX's 11th resupply mission to the space station". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2017. <a href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/06/03/cargo-manifest-for-spacexs-11th-resupply-mission-to-the-space-station/" target="_blank">https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/06/03/cargo-manifest-for-spacexs-11th-resupply-mission-to-the-space-station/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">Marder, Jenny (3 July 2019). "Inflatable Decelerator Will Hitch a Ride on the JPSS-2 Satellite". NOAA. Retrieved 30 October 2019. <a href="https://www.jpss.noaa.gov/news.html?122" target="_blank">https://www.jpss.noaa.gov/news.html?122</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Xinhua Editorial Board (5 May 2020). ""胖五"家族迎新 送新一代载人飞船试验船升空——长征五号B运载火箭首飞三大看点 (LM5 Family in focus: next generation crewed spacecraft and other highlight of the Long March 5B maiden flight)". Xinhua News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020. <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/2020-05/05/c_1125945037.htm" target="_blank">http://www.xinhuanet.com/2020-05/05/c_1125945037.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Bill D'Zio (7 May 2020). "Is China's inflatable space tech a $400 Million Cost savings for NASA's SLS?". westeastspace.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020. <a href="https://westeastspace.com/2020/05/07/is-chinas-inflatable-space-tech-a-400-million-cost-savings-for-nasas-sls/" target="_blank">https://westeastspace.com/2020/05/07/is-chinas-inflatable-space-tech-a-400-million-cost-savings-for-nasas-sls/</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">"FALCon". embention.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020. <a href="https://www.embention.com/project/falcon-project/" target="_blank">https://www.embention.com/project/falcon-project/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">"SpaceX on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2016. <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/679114269485436928" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/679114269485436928</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">Pidvysotskyi, Valentyn (July 2021), The Concept of an Inflatable Reusable Launch Vehicle, doi:10.31224/osf.io/xbf8z, S2CID 243032818, archived from the original on 2021-08-18, retrieved 2021-08-18 <a href="https://engrxiv.org/xbf8z/" target="_blank">https://engrxiv.org/xbf8z/</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">Sippel, M; Stappert, S; Bussler, L; Dumont, E (September 2017), "Systematic Assessment of Reusable First-Stage Return Options" (PDF), IAC-17-D2.4.4, 68th International Astronautical Congress, Adelaide, Australia., archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-04-13, retrieved 2017-12-26 <a href="http://elib.dlr.de/114960/1/IAC17-D2.4.4.pdf" target="_blank">http://elib.dlr.de/114960/1/IAC17-D2.4.4.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">"von Braun concept vehicle". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-15. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012312/http://www.astronautix.com/v/vonbraunconceptvehicle.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012312/http://www.astronautix.com/v/vonbraunconceptvehicle.html</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Portree, David S. F. "Wernher von Braun's Fantastic Vision: Ferry Rocket". Wired. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-15. <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/09/wernher-von-brauns-fantastic-vision-ferry-rocket/" target="_blank">https://www.wired.com/2014/09/wernher-von-brauns-fantastic-vision-ferry-rocket/</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">"ch2". history.nasa.gov. <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4221/ch2.htm" target="_blank">https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4221/ch2.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:25">"Nexus". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2020-11-15. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032934/http://www.astronautix.com/n/nexus.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032934/http://www.astronautix.com/n/nexus.html</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:26">"Forgotten 1960s 'Thunderbirds' projects brought to life". BAE Systems | United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-02-07. <a href="https://www.baesystems.com/en-uk/feature/1960s-lsquothunderbirdsrsquo-projects-brought-to-life" target="_blank">https://www.baesystems.com/en-uk/feature/1960s-lsquothunderbirdsrsquo-projects-brought-to-life</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:27">NASA-CR-195281, "Utilization of the external tanks of the space transportation system" <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100513080246/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940004970_1994004970.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100513080246/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940004970_1994004970.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:28">"STS External Tank Station". Ntrs.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150407010201/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/stsation.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150407010201/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/stsation.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:29">"Copper Canyon". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2018-06-08. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200920050424/http://www.astronautix.com/c/coppercanyon.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20200920050424/http://www.astronautix.com/c/coppercanyon.html</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:30">"Б.И.Губанов. Триумф и трагедия "Энергии" глава 41". www.buran.ru. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2020-11-14. <a href="http://www.buran.ru/htm/41-3.htm" target="_blank">http://www.buran.ru/htm/41-3.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:31">"Recovery of an Ariane 5 booster at sea". www.esa.int. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-03-03. <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2008/11/Recovery_of_an_Ariane_5_booster_at_sea" target="_blank">https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2008/11/Recovery_of_an_Ariane_5_booster_at_sea</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:32">"France in Space #387". Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2021-03-03. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090125213207/http://www.france-science.org/spip.php?article399#3-ARIANE-5-ECA-BOOSTER-RECOVERED" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090125213207/http://www.france-science.org/spip.php?article399#3-ARIANE-5-ECA-BOOSTER-RECOVERED</a> <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:33">Lindsey, Clark (2013-03-28). "SpaceX moving quickly towards fly-back first stage". NewSpace Watch. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2013-03-29. <a href="http://www.newspacewatch.com/articles/spacex-moving-quickly-towards-fly-back-first-stage.html" target="_blank">http://www.newspacewatch.com/articles/spacex-moving-quickly-towards-fly-back-first-stage.html</a> <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:34">"Blue Origin Makes Historic Reusable Rocket Landing in Epic Test Flight". Calla Cofield. Space.Com. 2015-11-24. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2015-11-25. <a href="http://www.space.com/31202-blue-origin-historic-private-rocket-landing.html" target="_blank">http://www.space.com/31202-blue-origin-historic-private-rocket-landing.html</a> <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:35">Berger, Eric (24 November 2015). "Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk spar over gravity of Blue Origin rocket landing". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2015. <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2015/11/jeff-bezos-and-elon-musk-spar-over-gravity-of-blue-origin-rocket-landing/" target="_blank">https://arstechnica.com/science/2015/11/jeff-bezos-and-elon-musk-spar-over-gravity-of-blue-origin-rocket-landing/</a> <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:36">"SpaceX on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2015-12-22. <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/679114269485436928" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/679114269485436928</a> <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:37">"SpaceX successful [sic] launches first recycled rocket – video". The Guardian. Reuters. 31 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2017. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2017/mar/31/spacex-successfuly-launches-first-recycled-rocket-video" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2017/mar/31/spacex-successfuly-launches-first-recycled-rocket-video</a> <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:38">Wall, Mike (12 April 2019). "SpaceX Recovered Falcon Heavy Nose Cone, Plans to Re-fly it This Year (Photos)". Space.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2019-04-29. <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-reuse-payload-fairing-starlink-launch.html" target="_blank">https://www.space.com/spacex-reuse-payload-fairing-starlink-launch.html</a> <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:39">"Rocket Lab Announces Reusability Plans For Electron Rocket". Rocket Lab. 6 August 2019. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2019. <a href="https://www.rocketlabusa.com/about-us/updates/rocket-lab-announces-reusability-plans-for-electron-rocket/" target="_blank">https://www.rocketlabusa.com/about-us/updates/rocket-lab-announces-reusability-plans-for-electron-rocket/</a> <a href="#fnref:39" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:40">"Rocket Lab launches Electron in test of booster recovery". SpaceNews. 2020-11-20. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2020-11-20. <a href="https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-launches-electron-in-test-of-booster-recovery/" target="_blank">https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-launches-electron-in-test-of-booster-recovery/</a> <a href="#fnref:40" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:41">"China to test rocket reusability with planned Long March 8 launcher". SpaceNews.com. 2018-04-30. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2020-10-04. <a href="https://spacenews.com/china-to-test-rocket-reusability-with-planned-long-march-8-launcher/" target="_blank">https://spacenews.com/china-to-test-rocket-reusability-with-planned-long-march-8-launcher/</a> <a href="#fnref:41" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:42">Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Elon Musk (29 September 2017). Becoming a Multiplanetary Species (video). 68th annual meeting of the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia: SpaceX. Retrieved 2017-12-31 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: location (link) <a href="https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/tdUX3ypDVwI" target="_blank">https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/tdUX3ypDVwI</a> <a href="#fnref:42" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:43">"Trouble-free as a Kalashnikov assault rifle: the Amur methane rocket" (in Russian). Roscosmos. 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020. <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/29357/" target="_blank">https://www.roscosmos.ru/29357/</a> <a href="#fnref:43" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:44">"ESA plans demonstration of a reusable rocket stage". Space Daily. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2020-12-19. <a href="https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ESA_plans_demonstration_of_a_reusable_rocket_stage_999.html" target="_blank">https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ESA_plans_demonstration_of_a_reusable_rocket_stage_999.html</a> <a href="#fnref:44" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:45">"Return to Launch Site". NASA.gov. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150415062428/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/sts/aborts/rtls.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150415062428/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/sts/aborts/rtls.html</a> <a href="#fnref:45" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:46">"Space Shuttle Abort Evolution" (PDF). ntrs.nasa.gov. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2016. <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110015564.pdf" target="_blank">https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110015564.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:46" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:47">Handwerk, Brian (12 April 2016). "The Forgotten Soviet Space Shuttle Could Fly Itself". National Geographic. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160415135433/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160412-soviet-union-space-shuttle-buran-cosmonaut-day-gagarin/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20160415135433/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160412-soviet-union-space-shuttle-buran-cosmonaut-day-gagarin/</a> <a href="#fnref:47" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:48">Newcomb, Alyssa; Dooley, Erin (21 December 2015). "SpaceX Historic Rocket Landing Is a Success". ABC News. Retrieved 4 October 2016. <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/spacex-historic-rocket-landing-success/story?id=35888303" target="_blank">http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/spacex-historic-rocket-landing-success/story?id=35888303</a> <a href="#fnref:48" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:49">Sparks, Daniel (17 August 2016). "SpaceX Lands 6th Rocket, Moves Closer to Reusability". Los Motley Fool. Retrieved 27 February 2017. <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/17/spacex-lands-6th-rocket-moves-closer-to-reusabilit.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/17/spacex-lands-6th-rocket-moves-closer-to-reusabilit.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:49" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:50">Gebhardt, Chris (February 5, 2018). "SpaceX successfully debuts Falcon Heavy in demonstration launch from KSC – NASASpaceFlight.com". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018. <a href="https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacex-debut-falcon-heavy-demonstration-launch/" target="_blank">https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacex-debut-falcon-heavy-demonstration-launch/</a> <a href="#fnref:50" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:51">Foust, Jeff (22 January 2016). "Blue Origin reflies New Shepard suborbital vehicle". SpaceNews. Retrieved 1 November 2017. <a href="http://spacenews.com/blue-origin-reflies-new-shepard-suborbital-vehicle/" target="_blank">http://spacenews.com/blue-origin-reflies-new-shepard-suborbital-vehicle/</a> <a href="#fnref:51" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:52">Foust, Jeff (5 October 2016). "Blue Origin successfully tests New Shepard abort system". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 October 2016. <a href="http://spacenews.com/blue-origin-successfully-tests-new-shepard-abort-system/" target="_blank">http://spacenews.com/blue-origin-successfully-tests-new-shepard-abort-system/</a> <a href="#fnref:52" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:53">Foust, Jeff (15 October 2017). "Musk offers more technical details on BFR system - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018. <a href="http://spacenews.com/musk-offers-more-technical-details-on-bfr-system/" target="_blank">http://spacenews.com/musk-offers-more-technical-details-on-bfr-system/</a> <a href="#fnref:53" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:54">An exact figure for reused SRBs is not possible because the boosters were broken up for parts at the end of recovery and not kept as complete sets of parts. <a href="#fnref:54" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:55">Elon Musk (26 February 2024). "Due to continued design improvements, this Falcon 9 carried its highest ever payload of 17.5 tons of useful load to a useful orbit". <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1762019803630563800" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1762019803630563800</a> <a href="#fnref:55" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:56">As of 12 January 2024. A presentation slide at the company's all-hands meeting stated that fairing halves of the Falcon 9 and Heavy rockets had been recovered and reflown "more than 300 times".[55] <a href="#fnref:56" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:57">As of 12 January 2024. A presentation slide at the company's all-hands meeting stated that fairing halves of the Falcon 9 and Heavy rockets had been recovered and reflown "more than 300 times".[55] <a href="#fnref:57" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:58">Rocket Lab announced in 2024 that it will be reusing a recovered first stage.[56] <a href="#fnref:58" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:59">The center booster used for Arabsat-6A was landed but not recovered. <a href="/wiki/Arabsat-6A" target="_blank">/wiki/Arabsat-6A</a> <a href="#fnref:59" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:60">As of 12 January 2024. A presentation slide at the company's all-hands meeting stated that fairing halves of the Falcon 9 and Heavy rockets had been recovered and reflown "more than 300 times".[55] <a href="#fnref:60" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:61">As of 12 January 2024. A presentation slide at the company's all-hands meeting stated that fairing halves of the Falcon 9 and Heavy rockets had been recovered and reflown "more than 300 times".[55] <a href="#fnref:61" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:62">SpaceX have reflown a recovered engine on a subsequent flight, but not yet an entire booster. <a href="#fnref:62" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Reusable launch vehicle open-in-new

Reusable launch vehicle