SpaceX reportedly recovered four boosters across three launches in less than 13 hours, in a sequence spanning October 1–2, 2026. The missions were Crew-13, Transporter-18 and NROL-97, with one booster recovery attributed to each Falcon 9 flight and two side-booster recoveries to Falcon Heavy.
Three missions, four reported recoveries
The missions had different jobs: Crew-13 carried astronauts toward the International Space Station, Transporter-18 was a rideshare flight carrying 130 customer payloads, and NROL-97 was a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) mission with a classified payload. The reported recovery breakdown was:
| Mission | Launch vehicle | Mission role | Reported boosters recovered |
| Crew-13 | Falcon 9 | Crew transport to the International Space Station | 1 |
| Transporter-18 | Falcon 9 | Rideshare carrying 130 customer payloads | 1 |
| NROL-97 | Falcon Heavy | Classified NRO mission | 2 side boosters |
The Falcon 9 boosters had different flight histories
The Crew-13 Falcon 9 booster reportedly landed at Landing Zone 40 on its third flight. The Transporter-18 booster was reportedly completing its 25th flight. Those reuse counts belong to different boosters on separate missions.
NeoTeo previously covered SpaceX’s planned NROL-97 Falcon Heavy launch; that earlier article provides background on the mission.
NROL-97’s side boosters landed at two zones
The two Falcon Heavy side boosters reportedly landed at Landing Zones 1 and 2 less than eight minutes after liftoff. NROL-97 carried a classified payload for the NRO.
