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When launching a reused Falcon 9, how much time would it take to refurbish a used first stage in order to get into working condition?

NOTE: This question is different as it looks at the time between lift off and soft touchdown, not the amount of time between launches of a new and used falcon-9 first stage.

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    $\begingroup$ That is an excellent question that we are very much interested in learning the answer to. Alas, it is possible that only SpaceX internal folk know the answer. I look forward to that info becoming available to us. $\endgroup$
    – geoffc
    Nov 23, 2018 at 14:35
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    $\begingroup$ @geoffc is there an upper limit at least? "What is the shortest time so far that..." $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Nov 23, 2018 at 14:35
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    $\begingroup$ It is hard to know, because time between launches is not useful. I.e. Shortest time between reuse of one booster is not directly the time required. Schedule (range and payload) and availability of upper stages/fairings probably play as much of a role. www.spacexstats.xyz is a great resource for seeing the time. $\endgroup$
    – geoffc
    Nov 23, 2018 at 15:03
  • $\begingroup$ Another flaw to this question (sorry, nothing personal..) - What refurb process? What booster version? SpaceX has said in the past that no two F9s have rolled off the assembly line the same. That's changing now, but it's likely the refurb process is evolving just as much right now. This question will be applicable in another year or so when (hopefully) SpaceX has been reflying a stable configuration for awhile. $\endgroup$
    – Saiboogu
    Nov 23, 2018 at 19:10

2 Answers 2

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Musk has said he wants to launch the same booster twice in 24 hours but he has not done that yet and it's an ambitious goal to say the least. https://spacenews.com/spacex-targeting-24-hour-turnaround-in-2019-full-reusability-still-in-the-works/

I looked at a few launches on wikipedia and the shortest time between launches I spotted was 72 days for B1045 . How much of that time is spent on transport vs refurbishment vs just sitting around waiting I suspect only spacex insiders know.

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    $\begingroup$ Only sort of answer that is presently possible. $\endgroup$
    – Saiboogu
    Nov 23, 2018 at 17:58
  • $\begingroup$ 24 hours for all necessary pre launch tests, all refurbishments and all launch preparations (loading of all fliuds and gases) seems to be very short. $\endgroup$
    – Uwe
    Nov 23, 2018 at 17:59
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    $\begingroup$ I assume 24 hours depends on '10 flights without refurbishment,' another claimed feature. So in 24 hours they would a) review telemetry at a high level looking for known warning signs, b) move the vehicle from landing pad to hangar, replace consumables and mate with a ready upper stage and payload, c) move to pad and launch. That timeline has to skip lots of stuff they are doing between flights now. $\endgroup$
    – Saiboogu
    Nov 23, 2018 at 19:04
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    $\begingroup$ @Saiboogu: Some steps seems missing: c) move to pad, d)tanking of propellants, e)launch. $\endgroup$
    – Uwe
    Nov 23, 2018 at 23:25
  • $\begingroup$ I got your C and E but yes, fueling too. $\endgroup$
    – Saiboogu
    Nov 24, 2018 at 1:40
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In the last year alone, SpaceX reduced rocket reuse time from 27 to 21 days, as shown below. If the cost were to correlate with time, which seems likely, our research suggests that the cost to refurbish the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket has dropped from ~\$13 to ~\$1 million during the past five years. This improvement, along with other reusability developments, suggests the cost-per-kilogram to low Earth orbit of a reused Falcon 9 is ~\$800, compared to ~\$2,700 for a new Falcon 9. For historical context, it cost between \$450 million and \$1.5 billion per launch to refurbish the Space Shuttle.

https://ark-invest.com/newsletters/issue-335/

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