---
title: "The End of an Era for Falcon 9: SpaceX Begins Phasing Out Its Workhorse Rocket in Favor of the Starship Era"
description: "SpaceX begins the orderly wind-down of Falcon 9 after nearly 700 missions: most commercial launches are set to cease around 2028, while the full transition to Starship depends on the results of the megarocket's test flights."
date: 2026-08-25T10:16:03.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/spacex-phasing-out-falcon-9-era-of-starship
tags: [spacex, falcon-9, starship, nasa, iss, starlink, rocket-launch, reusable-rocket]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# The End of an Era for Falcon 9: SpaceX Begins Phasing Out Its Workhorse Rocket in Favor of the Starship Era

![SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch against a stormy sky with a massive steam and smoke cloud, marking the end of an era ahead of the Starship transition](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/25/spacex-svorachivanie-falcon-9-era-starship/spacex-svorachivanie-falcon-9-era-starship-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- SpaceX has stopped accepting new commercial orders for Falcon 9 beyond 2028; the full transition to Starship will begin once the megarocket enters regular flights
- Falcon 9 has completed nearly 700 missions since 2010 and will remain in service for NASA contracts (Crew Dragon, ISS) at least until 2030
- Starship V3 (124.4 m, >100 t to LEO) is fully reusable: both Super Heavy and the spacecraft return, unlike Falcon 9
- The final timeline for retiring Falcon 9 depends on the results of Starship's orbital tests and the obtaining of NASA certifications

SpaceX is beginning the orderly wind-down of the Falcon 9 program — the launch vehicle that has served as the workhorse of American and global commercial spaceflight for more than fifteen years. According to RBC-Ukraine, Elon Musk stated this in his X account, explaining that the transition to the next generation of launchers will begin once the super-heavy Starship system moves into regular operational flights. In the words of SpaceX's chief, winding down Falcon 9 and its heavy variant, Falcon Heavy, is an "inevitable step": as soon as the Starship megarocket begins flying reliably several times a week, the company's manufacturing and logistical resources will be fully redirected to it to ramp up launch frequency to several per day.

### Almost 700 Missions: Falcon 9 Enters the History Books

Falcon 9 first launched in 2010 and, over the course of its service, has carried out nearly 700 successful missions. It is this rocket that permanently entered the history of world spaceflight as the first orbital system whose first stage was learned to return to Earth and reuse. On its shoulders were carried out the launches of Starlink satellites, Crew Dragon missions with astronauts to the ISS, Dragon cargo ships, as well as dozens of commercial and government tasks. In essence, Falcon 9 became the foundation on which SpaceX built its entire business model and reputation.

### Starship V3: Dimensions, Payload Capacity, and Full Reusability

The main advantage of Starship over Falcon 9 lies in its size, payload capacity, and the principle of "full reusability." The current version of Starship (V3) stands 124.4 meters tall — compared to 70 meters for Falcon 9 — and is capable of delivering more than 100 tons of payload to low Earth orbit. For comparison: Falcon 9's limit is about 25 tons, and Falcon Heavy's is 63 tons. A fundamental difference also lies in recovery: while the Falcon 9 upper stage burns up in the dense layers of the atmosphere, with Starship both the giant Super Heavy booster and the spacecraft itself return to Earth. The next generations of Starlink communications satellites are significantly larger and heavier than their predecessors, and their mass deployment is designed specifically for the Starship cargo bay.

### Timeline: 2028 for Commercial, 2030 for NASA

According to industry reports, SpaceX plans to discontinue most commercial Falcon 9 launches around 2028. By that time, Starship will already be involved in NASA's Artemis lunar program for landing astronauts on the surface of Earth's satellite. Meanwhile, Falcon 9 will continue to fly at least until 2030 to fulfill NASA contracts: the rocket will remain the primary transport for delivering astronauts on the Crew Dragon spacecraft and cargo to the International Space Station. Transferring ISS missions to Starship is currently impossible for engineering reasons: the enormous dimensions of the new system create safety risks for the station during docking, and the spacecraft itself lacks the corresponding certifications from the American space agency.

### Contradictory Data

There is a certain inconsistency in the wording of timelines in open sources. On the one hand, a number of industry publications (including ixbt.com and 3dnews.ru) note that SpaceX has already stopped accepting new commercial orders for Falcon 9 launches dated later than 2028, which effectively means "closing the window" for booking. On the other hand, the same RBC-Ukraine article emphasizes that Falcon 9 will fly "at least until 2030" under NASA contracts, and that the final timeline for fully retiring the rocket "will depend entirely on how quickly SpaceX can demonstrate the reliability and safety of Starship in upcoming orbital test flights." Thus, 2028 is a benchmark for the commercial segment, while the full retirement of Falcon 9 may be pushed to a later date depending on the results of Starship testing. In addition, earlier (according to 3dnews.ru) SpaceX had received permission to resume Falcon 9 launches after temporary pauses, indicating the dynamism of the schedule and the absence of a hard "point of no return" at the current stage.

### What This Means for the Market

The wind-down of Falcon 9 is not simply a change of rocket model, but a structural reorganization of SpaceX's entire logistics chain. The engineering and manufacturing capacities that have been tuned to Falcon 9 for decades will be redirected to the serial production of Starship. For commercial customers, this means that after 2028 the primary (and in the long term — the only) means of orbital launch within the SpaceX ecosystem will be Starship. For NASA and the ISS, the transition will be smoother: Falcon 9 will retain its status as the "workhorse" for crewed and cargo missions until Starship obtains all the necessary certifications and demonstrates the safety of docking with orbital stations.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [The End of an Era for Falcon 9: SpaceX Prepares a Replacement for the Record-Holding Rocket](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/kinets-epohi-falcon-9-spacex-gotue-zaminu-1787646493.html) - Первичный источник: заявление Маска в X, история Falcon 9 (~700 миссий), параметры Starship V3, таймлайн 2028/2030, ограничения по МКС. В тексте присутствует фрагмент некорректного автоперевода, не использованный в статье.
- [SpaceX Bets on Starship: The Company Is Already Refusing Falcon 9 Bookings Beyond 2028](https://www.ixbt.com/live/science/spacex-delaet-stavku-na-starship-kompaniya-uzhe-otkazyvaetsya-ot-bronirovaniya-falcon-9-posle-2028-goda.html) - Подтверждает факт прекращения приёма коммерческих бронирований Falcon 9 после 2028 г. и ставку на Starship.
- [SpaceX Stops Accepting Orders for Falcon 9 Launches Beyond 2028 — the Era of Starship Begins](https://3dnews.ru/1145739/spacex-prekratila-priyom-zakazov-na-zapuski-falcon-9-posle-2028-goda-dalshe-nachnyotsya-era-starship) - Независимое подтверждение прекращения приёма заказов на Falcon 9 после 2028 г.
- [SpaceX Permitted to Resume Falcon 9 Rocket Launches, Starship Get Ready](https://3dnews.ru/1112369/spacex-razreshili-vozobnovit-zapuski-raket-falcon-9-starship-prigotovitsya) - Независимое подтверждение прекращения приёма заказов на Falcon 9 после 2028 г.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: When exactly will SpaceX stop launching Falcon 9?
**A:** Most commercial Falcon 9 launches are planned to cease around 2028. Meanwhile, the rocket will continue to fly under NASA contracts (delivering astronauts via Crew Dragon and cargo to the ISS) at least until 2030. The exact date of full retirement depends on the results of Starship's orbital tests.

### Q: Why won't Falcon 9 be replaced immediately?
**A:** The transition cannot be instantaneous: Starship must first prove its reliability in a series of orbital test flights, obtain NASA certifications, and be adapted for docking with the ISS. Starship's dimensions create additional safety risks for the station, so ISS missions cannot yet be transferred to the new rocket.

### Q: How is Starship fundamentally better than Falcon 9?
**A:** Starship V3 is taller (124.4 m versus 70 m), delivers more than 100 tons to LEO compared to about 25 tons for Falcon 9, and is fully reusable: both the Super Heavy booster and the spacecraft itself return to Earth. With Falcon 9, only the first stage is reusable.

### Q: What will happen to the Starlink satellites?
**A:** The next generations of Starlink satellites are significantly larger and heavier than their predecessors and are designed specifically for the Starship cargo bay. Their mass deployment will be carried out by the new megarocket.