This specifically illustrates why SpaceX's approach to rocketry is the right way to go. They lost a booster that already had many successful launches and they have 19 more already flight proven and 3 new ones being prepared. (Apologies for that ungainly sentence.)<p>It's definitely a loss, but not crippling in any way.
John Kraus (who takes fantastic space launch pictures - @johnkrausphotos on Instagram) wrote a warm and appreciative obituary for the booster.<p>> Falcon 9 B1058<p>> A portion of the record-setting Falcon 9 booster remains on board the Just Read the Instructions droneship. After its 19th launch and landing, the vehicle tipped over in rough seas during the transit back to Port Canaveral, and its top portion broke off.<p>> On May 30, 2020, B1058 launched Demo-2, the mission that returned orbital human spaceflight to the United States after the retirement of the space shuttle. It went on to fly hundreds of Starlink satellites and other payloads into orbit over its roughly 3.5-year flight history. It brought back the iconic NASA worm logo, and in the time since became a notable and sentimental booster for much of the spaceflight community.<p>> While its loss is disappointing, it's worth remembering that it flew 18 more missions than every expendable rocket that's ever flown, and the lessons learned from B1058 will contribute to further learnings about Falcon 9 and its recovery and reflight operations. Its 19 flights contributed to an incredible track record of over 250+ orbital class rocket landings, unparalleled by any other entity in the industry.<p>> Hopefully some of what remains can be put on display!
It makes sense to try and accumulate "mileage" on one disproportionately more than on the others. That way, you could get learnings of long term issues (ideally) before the rest of the fleet is at risk to make necessary improvements.