Block 5 boosters were initially certified for 10 launches[83] which was increased to 15. A "deep-dive" examination has been performed on Falcon 9 B1058 and B1060 after their 15th flight,[84] and SpaceX certified Falcon 9 boosters for 20 missions. SpaceX has further increased the Falcon re-flight certification to 40 flights per booster, since 20 flights of some boosters are reached.[85][86]

Wheel bearings: small yet mighty components hidden within the wheels of your car. These little bearings play a pivotal role in your vehicle’s performance, affecting everything from a smooth drive to safe steering. In this guide, we’ll explore what they are, their critical functions in ensuring a comfortable and safe ride, and how long they typically last.

B1023 and B1025 were assigned the role of side boosters for the Falcon Heavy test flight in 2017, after which they underwent separate static fire tests. The boosters were mated to a newly built Falcon Heavy core, B1033, for the flight.[257] The maiden flight of Falcon Heavy on 6 February 2018 launched SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster and a dummy astronaut into a Mars-crossing heliocentric orbit. The boosters successfully separated from the core and performed synchronized landings on LZ-1 and LZ-2.[258]

There are three booster types: Falcon 9 (F9), Falcon Heavy core (FH core) boosters, and Falcon Heavy side (FH side) boosters. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy side boosters are reconfigurable to each other. A Falcon Heavy core booster is manufactured with structural supports for the side boosters and cannot be converted to a Falcon 9 booster or Falcon Heavy side booster.[citation needed] The interstage mounting hardware was changed after B1056. The newer interstage design features fewer pins holding the interstage on, reducing the amount of work needed to convert a Falcon 9 booster to a Falcon Heavy side booster.[82]

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This chart lists how often boosters were flown. It is limited to the Full Thrust versions as previous versions were never recovered intact. The entries for Block 5 include active boosters that can make additional flights in the future. Blocks 1–3 made 27 flights with 18 boosters (1.5 flights per booster), Block 4 made 12 flights with 7 boosters (1.7 flights per booster). As of 17 December 2024, Block 5 made 358 flights with 30 boosters (11.9 flights per booster) with Falcon 9.

Yes, we’d say it is generally a good idea to replace wheel bearings in pairs, even if only one of them is showing signs of wear or damage. By replacing both wheel bearings on the same axle, the two sides of the vehicle will perform equally – which means consistent handling. Plus, if one of the wheel bearings has worn out due to factors like age or driving conditions, it’s likely that the other bearing on the same axle will wear out soon as well. So it’s more cost-effective in the long run as you save on labour costs.

The booster expended after 1 use was B1054, (GPS III SV01 to MEO, Dec 2018). The three boosters destroyed on their first flight include two FH cores : B1055 (fell off ship, Apr 2019) and B1057 (ADS landing fail, June 2019).

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This chart shows how many boosters have had N flights, and their status: whether they are still active, expended (i.e. no attempt was made to recover) or destroyed (i.e. recovery of the booster failed).

A few factors that affect how long the wheel bearings will last will depend on the quality of the actual bearings, driving conditions (such as rough roads and driving through deep water can result in premature failure), maintenance of the vehicle and the driver’s habits (sharp turns may put additional strain on the wheel bearings).

SpaceX inventory

B1050 launched for the first time on 5 December 2018.[267][268] A grid fin malfunction occurred shortly after the entry burn, resulting in the booster performing a controlled landing in the ocean instead of the planned ground pad landing.[269]

This timeline displays all launches of Falcon 9 boosters starting with the first launch of Full Thrust. Active boosters that are expected to make additional flights in the future are marked with an asterisk. Single flights are marked with vertical lines. A short white gap indicates conversion between Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy side formats. For boosters having performed several launches, colored bars indicate the turnaround time for each flight.

In 2022, the Falcon 9 set a new record with 60 successful launches by the same launch vehicle type in a calendar year. This surpassed the previous record held by Soyuz-U, which had 47 launches (45 successful) in 1979.[233] In 2023, the Falcon family of rockets (including the Falcon Heavy) had 96 successful launches, surpassing the 63 launches (61 successful) of the R-7 rocket family in 1980.[a][234]

SpaceX attempted parachute of the Falcon 9 v1.0 first stage on flights 1 and 2, however on both attempts the boosters disintegrated on re-entry, and the plans were abandoned in favor of propulsive landings. Boosters B0002 (Grasshopper) and B1002 (F9R Dev1) were modified to make short propulsive hops at test sites to demonstrate landing technologies, and were not used on orbital missions. Three boosters successfully made soft ocean touchdowns on orbital flights but were not recovered.

B1056 first launched on 4 May 2019, carrying a Cargo Dragon to the ISS. Because of the failure of the static test fire of Crew Dragon C204's Super-Draco abort engines on LZ-1, it landed on a drone ship instead.[272] It flew three more times. On 17 February 2020, B1056 was planned to perform the 50th orbital-class rocket landing, just 27 days after its previous launch.[273] The booster soft-landed in the Atlantic Ocean and was severely damaged after launching Starlink satellites into orbit, becoming the first flight-proven Block 5 booster to fail landing.[137]

The best way to tell which wheel bearing is bad is to lift or jack up the vehicle. This is pretty straightforward for a professional mechanic with the right equipment and gear.

As of 20 December 2024[update], SpaceX has put into service a total of 45 new B5 boosters, of which 27 have been destroyed (19 have been expended, six have been lost due to failed landings, and two have been lost during recovery).

If you’re aware that wheel bearings are at fault or experience issues with the suspension in general, it is recommended that you avoid driving and have the vehicle inspected by a professional mechanic as soon as possible. A few risks involved with driving with faulty wheel bearings include:

B1058, first launched on 30 May 2020 (Crew Dragon Demo-2), was the only booster with NASA logos. On 11 September 2022, during a Starlink mission, it became the first to complete fourteen launches and landings to become the fleet leader. With another 5 Starlink missions, B1058 achieved 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19 launches and landings, the first to do so. B1062 had been the first to achieve 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd launches and landings of a booster. Guinness World Records holder B1067 is the current fleet leader after completing 24th launch and landings, the first to do so.[87] Amongst all B5 boosters, B1058 holds the record for most spacecraft (869) launched to orbit and while the record for most spacecraft mass launched to orbit by a single booster is held by B1062 (313,000 kg (690,000 lb)). B1063 is currently the oldest surviving booster in the Falcon 9 fleet.

One way to listen for noise. Pay close attention to the location of the noise when you hear it. Humming or a rumbling noise associated with bad wheel bearings is typically more pronounced on the side where the problem exists. If you’re hearing the noise more from the front of the vehicle, it’s likely a front wheel bearing; if it’s from the rear, it’s likely a rear wheel bearing.

Boosters B1023 and B1025 were originally Falcon 9 boosters which were converted to Falcon Heavy side boosters for the Falcon Heavy test flight.

B1062

Falcon 9 B1019 was the first Full Thrust booster, and was first launched on 22 December 2015 for Falcon 9 flight 20 and landed on the Landing Zone 1 (LZ‑1) at Cape Canaveral. It became the first orbital-class rocket booster to perform a successful return to launch site and vertical landing.[240][241][242]

Falcon 9 B1069 launched SpaceX CRS-24 to ISS in December 2021 for NASA. SpaceX achieved the feat of 100 successful orbital rocket booster landings in this mission, coinciding with the sixth anniversary of its first booster landing. The rough seas led to the Octagrabber robot not being able to secure the booster to the deck, leading to both the booster, droneship and the Octagrabber robot being heavily damaged in transit.[285] It took months for SpaceX to refurbish B1069, returning into service only on Group 4-23 mission in August 2022.

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The Falcon Heavy derivative is a heavy-lift launch vehicle composed of three Falcon 9 first-stage boosters. The central core is reinforced, while the side boosters feature aerodynamic nosecone instead of the usual interstage.[236]

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Rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 425 times over 15 years, resulting in 422 full successes (99.29%), two in-flight failures (SpaceX CRS-7 and Starlink Group 9–3), and one partial success (SpaceX CRS-1, which delivered its cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), but a secondary payload was stranded in a lower-than-planned orbit). Additionally, one rocket and its payload (AMOS-6) were destroyed before launch in preparation for an on-pad static fire test. The active version of the rocket, the Falcon 9 Block 5, has flown 357 times successfully and failed once, resulting in the 99.72% success rate.

Falcon 9 B1021 was the first booster to be re-flown and the first to land on a droneship. It was first launched on 8 April 2016 carrying a Dragon spacecraft and Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) on the SpaceX CRS-8 mission and landed on an autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS). After recovery, inspections and refurbishing, it was launched again on 30 March 2017 for the SES-10 mission and recovered successfully a second time. This event marks a milestone in SpaceX's drive to develop reusable rockets and reduce launch costs.[28][245][246][247][248] Following the second flight, SpaceX stated that they plan to retire this booster and donate it to Cape Canaveral for public display.[249][250] It was later put on public display outside Dish Network's headquarters in Littleton, Colorado in October 2023.[30]

B1058 SpaceX

As a rough estimate, wheel bearings can typically last anywhere from 85,000 to 100,000 miles in normal driving conditions. Vehicles that undergo harsher driving environments may experience wheel bearings wearing out earlier than average.

B1060 first flew on 30 June 2020, a month after Demo-2. Further missions it supported include launches of Starlink v1, v1.5 and v2 Mini, two Transporter ridesharing missions, and three large commercial satellites. After becoming the senior active rocket for SpaceX on 25 December 2023, it was assigned to what would become the first successful commercial Lunar landing: the booster launched IM-1 on 15 February 2024. This was its eighteenth mission.[279]

B1046 was the first Block 5, the final version of the SpaceX Falcon 9. It was first launched on 11 May 2018, carrying Bangabandhu-1, Bangladesh's first geostationary communications satellite. This marked the 54th flight of the Falcon 9 and the first flight of the Falcon 9 Block 5.[259] After completing a successful ascent, B1046 landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. After inspection and refurbishment, B1046 was launched a second time on 7 August 2018, carrying the Telkom-4 (Merah Putih) satellite. The Telkom-4 mission marked the first time an orbital-class rocket booster launched two GTO missions. This was also the first re-flight of a Block 5 booster.[260] Four months after the Telkom-4 mission, B1046 arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base to support the SSO-A mission. Following delays for additional satellite checks,[261] liftoff occurred from SLC-4E on 3 December 2018. This marked the first time that the same orbital-class booster flew three times.[262] Its fourth and last mission launched a Crew Dragon capsule up to the point of maximum dynamic pressure, where it separated from the rocket to test its abort system in flight to validate the system's safety for crews. After separation of Falcon and Dragon, B1046 was compromised by aerodynamic forces.

Despite the successful landing in its nineteenth flight, the booster tipped over during transit due to rough seas and high winds. SpaceX has already equipped newer Falcon boosters with upgraded landing legs that have the capability to self-level and mitigate this type of issue.[278]

This chart displays the turnaround time, in days, between two flights of each booster. As of 13 December 2024[update], the shortest turnaround time was 14 days, for the thirteenth flight of B1080. Boosters that are still likely to be re-used (active fleet) are highlighted in bold.

In her Suzuki Jimny 4-wheel drive, Louanne combines her sense of adventure with her automotive know-how, transforming every drive into a lesson and a pleasure.

B1060Suzuki

On 11 September 2022, it flew for the 14th time and became the first booster to be recovered 14 times.[275] On 17 December 2022, it was also the first booster to fly and land for the 15th time.[276] On 10 July 2023, it broke the reusability record of flying and landing an orbital-class rocket booster for the 16th time and later went on to be the first to complete 17, 18, and 19 launches in the same year.[277]

Yes, it is possible. Both CV joint and wheel bearing issues can result in humming, clicking, or grinding sounds, especially when they are worn or damaged. However, if it is a wheel bearing issue, it is generally more continuous whereas a bad CV joint will make a clicking sound when directing the vehicle left or right.

Wheel bearings are crucial components of a vehicle’s suspension system that play a very important role in the smooth and safe rotation of the wheels. Wheel bearings are typically found in pairs or a pack on each wheel.

Louanne’s work at ClickMechanic might revolve around branding and customer engagement, but her passions extend far beyond the marketing sphere. A true foodie at heart, she loves exploring diverse cuisines and talking about her culinary adventures across the world. Her writing prowess shines through in her car-related blog content, where she offers invaluable driving tips and practical car repair advice.

Grasshopper consisted of "a Falcon 9 first-stage tank, a single Merlin-1D engine" with a height of 32 m (105 ft).[237] The booster used for Grasshopper had the serial number 0002.

Falcon 9 B1062 launched Inspiration4 in 2021, operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman.[282] The mission launched the Crew Dragon Resilience on 16 September 2021 at 00:02:56 UTC[a] from the Florida Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A atop a Falcon 9 launch vehicle, placed the Dragon capsule into low Earth orbit,[259] and ended successfully on 18 September 2021 at 23:06:49 UTC,[283] when the Resilience splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. B1062 held the record for the fastest booster turnaround time at 21 days and 4 hours between 8 April 2022 (Axiom-1) and 29 April 2022 (Starlink Group 4–16) beating the previous record of 27 days and 6 hours held by B1060. This was the first time a booster had flown twice in the same calendar month. According to the SpaceX webcast of the Starlink Group 4-16 mission, the booster spent just nine days in refurbishment. This record withstood until B1080 broke it by launching within 14 days between 11-24 November 2024. This booster was the first booster to achieve 20 launches and landings. This booster completed 22 successful launch and landings, before tipping over on its 23rd landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas during the Starlink 8-6 mission.[284]

Typically, replacing or changing wheel bearings takes about 1-2 hours per side. Rear wheel bearings may take slightly longer depending on the make and model of the vehicle. This will also differ significantly if it’s a 2-wheel drive vs a 4-wheel drive car.

On its next flight for Eutelsat Hotbird 13F, B1069 included a hosted promotional payload by FIFA, that was a box powered by Starlink containing two Adidas Al Rihla (the Journey) balls, that were to be used in 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[286] These match balls were launched and brought back by landing on the drone-ship surviving the stresses of re-entry. Later, they were taken out and shipped back to Qatar for the World Cup. This was the first payload on a Falcon 9 booster itself and demonstrated the reusability.[287] The balls' flight by SpaceX was, in part, a promotion for the company's Starlink satellite internet service. An associated website invited World Cup attendees to visit the Starlink office in Doha.[288]

SpaceX decided not to fly the booster again.[243] Rather, the rocket was moved a few miles north, refurbished by SpaceX at the adjacent Kennedy Space Center, to conduct a static fire test. This test aimed to assess the health of the recovered booster and the capability of this rocket design to fly repeatedly in the future.[244][240] The historic booster is on display outside SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

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Falcon 9 Full Thrust (version 1.2 / Block 3) was the first version of the Falcon 9 to successfully land. Changes included a larger fuel tank, uprated engines and supercooled propellant and oxidizer to increase performance. Block 3 and Block 4 are found in this list while the active Block 5 is listed separately. Block 4 was a test version that included new hardware like titanium grid fins later carried over to the current Block 5. Flights of all Falcon 9 rockets up to Block 4 were limited to 2 flights only, with a total of 14 second flights of these variants. The boosters were either retired or expended after that second launch.

In total 44 recovered boosters have been refurbished and subsequently flown at least a second time, with a record of 24 launches and landings carried out by a single booster. SpaceX intentionally limited Block 3 and Block 4 boosters to flying only two missions each,[2][3] but the company indicated in 2018 that they expected the Block 5 versions to achieve at least ten flights, with only minor refurbishment between missions. The ten flight milestone was first achieved by Booster B1051 on the Starlink 27 mission in 2021.[4]

Falcon 9 B1061 first launched Crew-1 to the ISS on 16 November 2020, the first operational flight of Crew Dragon, and landed on a drone ship.[280] It became the first booster to fly crew twice as well as the first reused booster to fly crew as a part of the Crew-2 mission.[281] This first stage went on to complete additional missions.[168] B1061 is the only booster to land on all of SpaceX's different landing zones and drone ships (not including LZ-2). It was expended on the ESA Hera launch on 7 October 2024. Booster 1061 flew a total of 23 flights, making it tied with B1062 for the oldest Falcon 9 booster.

Falcon 9 first-stage boosters landed successfully in 386 of 398 attempts (97%), with 361 out of 366 (98.6%) for the Falcon 9 Block 5 version. A total of 360 re-flights of first stage boosters have all successfully launched their second stages and, all but one, their payloads.

B1051 was the sixth Falcon 9 Block 5 booster built. On its maiden flight on 2 March 2019, it carried a Crew Dragon into orbit on the Demo-1 mission. It then flew its second mission out of Vandenberg AFB launching the Radarsat constellation. It then flew 4 Starlink missions and launched SXM-7, totaling 5 flights in 2020 alone, and becoming the first Falcon 9 to launch a commercial payload on its seventh flight. On 18 December 2021, it flew for a record 11th time.[271] It was the first booster to be used eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve times respectively. It flew for the final time on 12 November 2022 for the Intelsat G-31/G-32 mission, and was expended.

B1023 became the third orbital-class rocket to land on a droneship after launching Thaicom 8 into a geostationary transfer orbit on 27 May 2016. It was an unusually hard landing that crushed the energy absorbers on at least one of the landing legs, causing the booster to "walk" across the droneship and lean over,[251][252] but the rocket arrived safely at Port Canaveral.[253] B1025[254] successfully launched the CRS-9 resupply mission on its maiden flight on 18 July 2016 and landed on LZ-1, being the first after B1019 to do so.[255] The mission carried a new docking adapter specifically designed for autonomous spacecraft to the ISS in preparation for Dragon 2 resupply and Commercial Crew missions.[256]

Grasshopper began flight testing in September 2012 with a brief, three-second hop, followed by a second hop in November 2012 with an 8-second flight that took the testbed approximately 5.4 m (18 ft) off the ground, and a third flight in December 2012 of 29 seconds duration, with extended hover under rocket engine power, in which it ascended to an altitude of 40 m (130 ft) before descending under rocket power to come to a successful vertical landing.[238] Grasshopper made its eighth, and final, test flight on 7 October 2013, flying to an altitude of 744 m (2,441 ft) before making its eighth successful vertical landing.[239] Grasshopper is retired.[11]

The Falcon 9 has evolved through several versions: v1.0 was launched five times from 2010 to 2013, v1.1 launched 15 times from 2013 to 2016, Full Thrust launched 36 times from 2015 to 2015. The most recent version, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018.[235] With each iteration, the Falcon 9 has become more powerful and capable of vertical landing. As vertical landings became more commonplace, SpaceX focused on streamlining the refurbishment process for boosters, making it faster and more cost-effective.[4]

B1048 was the third Falcon 9 Block 5 to fly and the second Block 5 booster to re-fly, and the first booster ever to be launched four, then five times. During the last launch, an engine shut down seconds before the planned shutdown, becoming only the second time a Merlin engine failed since the failure during the SpaceX CRS-1 in October 2012. The primary mission was unaffected and the Starlink payload deployed successfully,[263] further confirming the reliability of the rocket due to redundancy of the engines. With reduced thrust, B1048 was unable to sufficiently slow down its descent, and thus was unable to land.[264]

Block 5 is the latest iteration of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters. Changes include a stronger heat shield, upgraded engines, new carbon composite sections (landing legs, engine sections, raceways, RCS thrusters and interstage), retractable landing legs, titanium grid fins, and other additions that simplify refurbishment and allow for easier reusability.[citation needed]

Booster names are a B followed by a four-digit number. The first Falcon 9 version, v1.0, had boosters B0001 to B0007. All following boosters were numbered sequentially starting at B1001, the number 1 standing for first-stage booster.

A Falcon 9 first-stage booster is a reusable rocket booster used on the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital launch vehicles manufactured by SpaceX. The manufacture of first-stage booster constitutes about 60% of the launch price of a single expended Falcon 9[1] (and three of them over 80% of the launch price of an expended Falcon Heavy), which led SpaceX to develop a program dedicated to recovery and reuse of these boosters. After multiple attempts, some as early as 2010, at controlling the re-entry of the first stage after its separation from the second stage, the first successful controlled landing of a first stage occurred on 22 December 2015, on the first flight of the Full Thrust version. Since then, Falcon 9 first-stage boosters have been landed and recovered 386 times out of 398 attempts, including synchronized recoveries of the side-boosters of most Falcon Heavy flights.

B1049 was the oldest Falcon 9 booster on active duty until its last flight on Nov 22, 2022, after which this title went to B1052. It was the first to successfully launch and land six, then seven times, and the second to launch and land eight, nine, and then ten times respectively. It launched two commercial payloads, Telstar 18V and the eighth Iridium NEXT batch, and eight internal Starlink batches.[265] B1049 was seen with its landing legs and grid fins removed indicating that it would be expended on its next flight. The final flight of B1049 was originally thought to be O3b mPower 4-6 but a regrouping of the launches meant that an expendable booster was no longer required. It was then planned that B1049's last flight would be the launch of Nilesat-301 however, those plans changed and the mission was flown with a recoverable booster (B1062.7). B1049 flew the Eutelsat-10B communications satellite with a Test/Spare Block 4 interstage on November 22, 2022. This mission was its last flight.[82][102][266]

Falcon 9 B1058 was first launched on 30 May 2020, from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (Apollo 11 launch site). It carried NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station. It was the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission, and the first crewed flight test of Dragon 2. It was the first crewed orbital spaceflight by a private company. The booster was the first and only Falcon 9 booster to feature NASA's worm logo and meatball insignia, which was reintroduced after last being used in 1992.[274]

All boosters in Block 4 and earlier have been retired, expended, or lost. The last flight of a Block 4 booster was in June 2018. Since then all boosters in the active fleet are Block 5.