Reusable rocket

A rocket whose stages are recovered and flown again, instead of being discarded after each launch.

• The booster is the most expensive part; Falcon 9 first stages relight their engines to slow down and land upright on a pad or ship.
• Individual Falcon 9 boosters have flown over 25 times, and reuse helped push launch prices to about $3,000 per kg to orbit.
• Keeping fuel for landing cuts payload by roughly a quarter or more, which pays off only if refurbishment is quick and cheap.
• Starship aims to reuse both stages, including an upper stage that must survive re-entry from orbital speed.