Other than costs, another advantage of flying the first stage back is that they can be analyzed to see how all the components perform or wear, and the design im

Other than costs, another advantage of flying the first stage back is that they can be analyzed to see how all the components perform or wear, and the design improved based on the findings. It's harder to do that when you crash them into the Atlantic every time. Over time, this could mean that reusable rockets are actually more reliable than one-time use rockets, though only if you fly enough times to get the benefit of evolving the design.