2017 Could Be Best Year For SpaceX, Record Number Of Successful Launches Probable

Despite the considerable amount of skepticism and derision that was directed at SpaceX, the company has been doing better and better over the last two years. Despite several failed launches of its Falcon 9 rockets, Elon Musk’s private space venture has had five successful missions, so far. Barring any significant setbacks, SpaceX could be looking at its best year ever, with up to 24 launches in 2017.

One of the biggest reasons for why SpaceX was getting so much flak in the past was due to its number of failed launches and over 70 backlogged missions worth $10 billion just a few years ago, Ars Technica reports. These days, Musk’s company has been enjoying a lot of positive feedback, not only for launching a reused rocket but for also having numerous consecutive launches with hardly any major incident.

The company is scheduled to launch its sixth mission on Monday, 15 May at 7:20 PM ET. It will take off from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex. If successful, it would be a record of six launches in just four months. With Musk being who he is, the company is only expected to escalate those missions.

As Science Times points out, Musk and his team have had much to celebrate over the last 15 years, largely due to the projected growth of the space flight industry and the role that SpaceX is set to play in this revolution. Over the next few years, tech experts expect more reused rockets to launch into space, delivering satellites and resupplying the International Space Station in the process.

For the short term, SpaceX has set the goal of making 24 launches a year, which would certainly go a lot faster and cheaper if it didn’t have to keep building rockets for every mission. It may have been slow-going, but the company is finally making good on its initial promises.