Falcon 9 is a partially reusablemedium-lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit,[A] designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX. It can also be used as an expendableheavy-lift launch vehicle.[B] The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June 2010. The first Falcon 9 commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on 8 October 2012.[16] In 2020 it became the first commercial rocket to launch humans to orbit.[17] In 2022, it became the U.S. rocket with the most launches in history and with a near perfect safety record, having suffered two flight failures.[18]
The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payload to a pre-determined speed and altitude, after which the second stage accelerates the payload to its target orbit. The booster is capable of landing vertically to facilitate reuse. This feat was first achieved on flight 20 in December 2015. As of 12 July 2024, SpaceX has successfully landed Falcon 9 boosters 314 times.[C] Individual boosters have flown as many as 22 flights.[19] Both stages are powered by SpaceX Merlin engines,[D] using cryogenic liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) as propellants.[20][21]
The heaviest payloads flown to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) were Intelsat 35e carrying 6,761 kg (14,905 lb), and Telstar 19V with 7,075 kg (15,598 lb). The former was launched into an advantageous super-synchronous transfer orbit,[22] while the latter went into a lower-energy GTO, with an apogee well below the geostationary altitude.[23] On 24 January 2021, Falcon 9 set a record for the most satellites launched by a single rocket, carrying 143 into orbit.[24]
Several versions of Falcon 9 have been built and flown: v1.0 flew from 2010 to 2013, v1.1 flew from 2013 to 2016, while v1.2 Full Thrust first launched in 2015, encompassing the Block 5 variant, which has been in operation since May 2018.
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^Graham, William (21 December 2015). "SpaceX returns to flight with OG2, nails historic core return". NASASpaceFlight. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015. The launch also marked the first flight of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust, internally known only as the "Upgraded Falcon 9"
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^ ab"Falcon 9". SpaceX. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
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^Stephen Clark (24 November 2021). "NASA spacecraft blasts off on experimental mission to divert asteroid". Spaceflight Now. A second burn, lasting nearly a minute, started 28 minutes after liftoff to accelerate DART to a speed of more than 24,000 mph (39,000 kilometers per hour), placing DART on a trajectory to escape the trip of Earth's gravity.
^Kyle, Ed (23 July 2018). "2018 Space Launch Report". Space Launch Report. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018. 07/22/18 Falcon 9 v1.2 F9-59 Telstar 19V 7.075 CC 40 GTO-.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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