For the past few years, SpaceX has been reusing there fairings. While on some SpaceX webcasts they tell you, others they dont. Is there a way to find out how many times judging from how they appear? Or does someone keep track of that?
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$\begingroup$ It is NOT on wikipedia. I would have checked there first. Actually, it generally seems to be kept a secret for somer eason. Or, maybe it is just that no one bothers to say @AtmosphericPrisonEscape $\endgroup$– Starship - On StrikeMar 3 at 0:00
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2$\begingroup$ I used to check the SpaceX subreddit for OSINT on booster reuse. Unfortunately I think that the fairings aren't as simple to distinguish as the boosters (which have visible serial numbers iirc), so unless someone develops a way to "fingerprint" the fairings between launches this might generally remain a mystery. $\endgroup$– Erin AnneMar 3 at 5:04
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2$\begingroup$ I have yet to find a public source with this info. The only reliable info is when during the launch webcast we get told "The fairings on this mission have flown 3 and 4 times". Boosters are much easier to track. I hope you do find a source! $\endgroup$– geoffcMar 3 at 12:00
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The only public information I know of is the mentions on the SpaceX web casts.
The reason we are so well informed about the individual Falcon 9 boosters, Dragon capsules, Starships, Super Heavy, and Raptor engines is that all of them have easily readable serial numbers painted on them that can be read from a distance.
The same is not true for fairings and Merlin engines. So, we know exactly which booster and which Dragon flies which mission and we know exactly which Raptor engine is installed on which vehicle in which spot, but we don't know about Merlin engines and we only limited amounts about fairings.
The best way to identify the fairing halves would probably be when they return to port, since they are just lying on the deck of the ship passing close to photographers … but unfortunately, they are always covered up for weather protection.
