Quality as the Opening Move Think of the Falcon 9 first stage as a quarterback who never throws a sloppy pass. SpaceX treats every weld, eve

Quality as the Opening Move Think of the Falcon 9 first stage as a quarterback who never throws a sloppy pass. SpaceX treats every weld, every software checksum, and every pre‑flight inspection like a high‑stakes snap. The company’s Design for Reliability (DfR) checklist reads like a playbook: redundant avionics, built‑in fault tolerance, and a rigorous “burst test” regime that pushes components to 150% of expected loads. The result? A 98.5% success rate across more than 200 flights – a metric that rivals the best NFL teams’ win percentages. Metrics that Matter Instead of vague “good enough” goals, SpaceX tracks Mean...