Block 5 rocket launch marks the end of the beginning for SpaceX

Enlarge / SpaceX has tinkered with its Falcon 9 rocket for a decade. Now, it says it's done. (credit: SpaceX)

Less than eight years after its maiden launch, the Falcon 9 booster has become the most dominant rocket in the world. Modern and efficient, no rocket launched more than the 70m Falcon 9 booster launched last year. Barring catastrophe, no rocket seems likely to launch more this year.

In part, SpaceX has achieved this level of efficiency by bringing a Silicon Valley mindset to the aerospace industry. The company seeks to disrupt, take chances, and, like so many relentless start-up companies, drive employees to work long hours to meet demanding engineering goals.

While founder Elon Musk's ambitions to settle Mars get most of the public's attention, the company's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which almost never leaves Earth orbit, is the reason SpaceX has soared to date. And on this vehicle, Musk's company has imprinted its ethos of disruption and innovation by seeking every opportunity to improve the rocket.

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