Aerospace & Space
Critical node· Aerospace & Space · Critical anchor

SpaceX, Falcon 9 & orbital launch

Hawthorne (Californie), United States33.92°N 118.33°W
computed criticality24/100
reading
≈84% of world mass put in orbit (2024); ≈134 orbital launches
2024
Fault line

A single reusable launcher puts into orbit the overwhelming majority of the mass sent up by humanity each year. This unprecedented concentration, rocket, factory and operator merged, is a single point of failure for Western access to space: a prolonged grounding of Falcon 9 would paralyse government satellites as much as the Starlink rollout. The exact figure varies by source and year.

Actors
SpaceX (Hawthorne, Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg)
Depends on 3
Aerospace carbon fibre, TorayAerospace & Space · Critical anchorInertial units & gyroscopes, Honeywell, Northrop, SafranAerospace & Space · LinkSpaceX engines, Merlin & RaptorAerospace & Space · Critical anchor
Feeds 3
Starlink, SpaceXAerospace & SpaceGPS & GNSS, Space Force / global constellationAerospace & SpaceDeep Space Network, NASA / JPLAerospace & Space
Shocks endured
Russia cuts off the RD-180 enginesMar 3, 2022
Sources