Question 1

True or false: Falcon 9 boosters sometimes land on a drone ship in the ocean to save fuel.

Accepted Answer

True. When payloads are heavy, landing on a drone ship requires less fuel than returning to land, conserving energy for the mission.

Question 2

True or false: The Falcon 9's second stage is also fully reusable and lands like the first stage.

Accepted Answer

False. The second stage is expendable; it's too light and fast to return, burning up in the atmosphere after delivering payload.

Question 3

True or false: Reusing a Falcon 9 first stage reduces launch costs by roughly 30% compared to a new one.

Accepted Answer

True. SpaceX claims reusing boosters cuts costs by about 30%, though exact savings vary by mission and refurbishment needs.

Question 4

True or false: Every Falcon 9 landing attempt since 2017 has been successful without any failures.

Accepted Answer

False. There have been several landing failures, such as the 2020 Starlink mission where a booster tipped over on the drone ship.

Question 5

True or false: The Falcon 9's fairing halves are never reused after launch.

Accepted Answer

False. SpaceX often recovers and reuses fairing halves with parachutes and net-catch ships, saving millions per mission.

Question 6

True or false: The Falcon 9's first stage can be reused up to 20 times with no refurbishment.

Accepted Answer

False. SpaceX certifies boosters for about 10 flights before major refurbishment; 20 flights without work is not yet standard.

Question 7

True or false: SpaceX uses a barge named 'Just Read the Instructions' for drone ship landings.

Accepted Answer

True. Yes, one of their drone ships is called 'Just Read the Instructions,' a nod to Iain M. Banks' Culture novels.

Question 8

True or false: One Falcon 9 booster has flown over 20 times for different missions.

Accepted Answer

True. Booster B1058 flew 19 times as of 2024, but no booster has exceeded 20 flights yet—though it's close.

SpaceX Falcon 9 reusability Trivia Questions