4 ms·
SpaceX F9 has 106 successful launches after their last failure. Ariane 5 has 106 launches since their last full failure. (1 partial failure in there.) Of cour
by wumpus 5y ago
SpaceX F9 has 106 successful launches after their last failure.
Ariane 5 has 106 launches since their last full failure. (1 partial failure in there.)
Of course, F9 is a little smaller, everything other than Delta IV Heavy is a little smaller, so your statement including "with that much payload capacity" is true by construction.
- shakezula 5y agoWow, that's a much better continuous success rate than I would've guessed on either account.
- wumpus 5y agoYes, it's amazing how the numbers pile up over time -- Ariane 5 was a great market fit for a long time until recently, and SpaceX has a crazy high F9 launch cadence.
- xoa 5y agoA few small expansions, not to take away from your overall point: >SpaceX F9 has 106 successful launches after their last failure. Ariane 5 has 106 launches since their last full failure. Worth noting given these rockets' history (and also your mention of cargo), both have had a number of major variants (as well as minor evolutions). The only operational F9 is the current Block 5 (first launched in 2018) and for the Ariane 5 the ECA (first flown in 2005). F9 Block 5 has flown 75 times and all have been successful. Ariane 5 ECA has flown 77 times with 1 failure. They're reliable rockets, though the F9 has obviously had a higher cadence as well as the distinction of human flight. >Of course, F9 is a little smaller, everything other than Delta IV Heavy is a little smaller It's a little more complicated in terms of cargo. F9 expended (which I think is fair given the Ariane 5 is expended) actually does slightly more mass to LEO (22.8t vs 22t). But the A5 is more optimized given its staging around mass to GTO, where it beats out F9 (8.3t vs 10.9t). F9 of course loses quite a bit when reused (LEO: 15.6t, GTO: 5.5t), but at massively less cost so not quite the same thing. Also when you say "everything other" you've completely forgotten about Falcon 9 Heavy :). That does 63.8t to LEO and 26.7t to GTO, and of course vastly outmasses either the F9 or A5.
- wumpus 5y agoSo you're saying that I completely forgot about Falcon Heavy, which I have personally seen launched twice? OK then. It has 3 successful launches, which is fewer than 106.
- xoa 5y agoWhat? You said: "F9 is a little smaller, everything other than Delta IV Heavy is a little smaller". How is everything other than Delta IV Heavy "a little smaller" than Ariane 5 when F9H is very much not smaller than Ariane 5?
- wumpus 5y agoOK, let me expand it out: F9 is a little smaller than Ariane 5 and FH, everything other than Delta IV Heavy is a little smaller than Ariane 5 and FH. You probably know all of this already. Please, let's stop deconstructing my grammar, and instead start communicating. BTW the two Falcon Heavy launches I witnessed were extremely cool.