How it works:

The Best Booster algorithm is a fun way of measuring which boosters have the "most interesting" flight history. The points are awarded as follows:

• Points are awarded per flight. Bonus points are awarded for every fifth flight. The algorithm uses a "diminishing returns" weighted variable so the effect of the flight bonus decreases as flight number increases
• Points are awarded for "special missions". These are as follows:
  • 11 points for Polaris Dawn
  • 10 points for Crew Demo-2 and Inspiration4
  • 9 points for the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test, Crew Demo-1, and Fram2
  • 8 points for any other Crew Dragon mission (Commercial Crew or Axiom Space)
  • 5 points for Cargo Dragon missions
• 3 points are awarded for every turnaround <25 days
• 10 points if the booster features the NASA worm logo
• 2 points for every successful RTLS landing at LZ-1 or LZ-4. 3 points for every successful RTLS to LZ-2
• 2 points for any booster supporting both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions
• 5 points for any booster which has launched from both Florida and California
• 4 points for any of the following science missions:
• IXPE
• DART
• Hera
• SWOT
• Euclid
• TRACERS
• SPHEREx & PUNCH
• EarthCARE
• PACE
• IMAP
• 6 points for any of the following flagship science missions:
• Psyche
• Europa Clipper
• 7 points for missions supporting a lunar lander
• 4 points for boosters carrying an X-37B spaceplane
• 2 points for every mission to GTO or GEO
• 3 points for any GPS or Galileo satellite
• 5 points will be deducted for any booster whose manifest consists of over 70% Starlink missions (only applicable to boosters which have launched 5 missions total). 5 points are deducted for every 5% after that: -5 for >70%, -10 for >75%, -15 for >80% etc