Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable, human-rated, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle [a] designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX.The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June 2010, and the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on 8 October 2012. [14]
The Falcon 9 v1.0 was the first member of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle family, designed and manufactured by SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. Development of the medium-lift launcher began in 2005, and it first flew on June 4, 2010.
Falcon 9 v1.1 was developed in 2010–2013, and made its maiden flight in September 2013. The Falcon 9 v1.1 is 60 percent heavier, with 60 percent more thrust than the v1.0 version of the Falcon 9. [23] It includes realigned first-stage engines [24] and 60 percent longer fuel tanks, making it more susceptible to bending during flight. [23]
According to NASA's own independently verified numbers, SpaceX's total development cost for the Falcon 9 rocket, including the Falcon 1 rocket, was estimated at $390 million. In 2011, NASA estimated that it would have cost the agency about $4 billion to develop a rocket like the Falcon 9 booster based upon NASA's traditional contracting ...
The third version of the Falcon 9 was developed in 2014–2015 and made its maiden flight in December 2015. The Falcon 9 Full Thrust is a modified reusable variant of the Falcon 9 family with capabilities that exceed the Falcon 9 v1.1, including the ability to "land the first stage for geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions on the drone ship" [14] [15] The rocket was designed using ...
[33] [34] The cost of a fairing is about $6 million which accounts for 10 percent of overall Falcon 9 launch costs. [16] The "bouncy castle" idea led to SpaceX contracting for the fast vessel Mr. Steven which was subsequently modified to facilitate a large net being strung between long arms that extend considerably beyond the width of the ship. Mr.
[33] [34] A 2011 estimate showed that the project was expected to cost between $20 and $30 million for the first 24 months of construction and operation; thereafter, operational costs were expected to be $5–10 million per year. The sixth flight of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle launched in September 2013, which was the maiden flight of Falcon 9 ...
The first Falcon 9 version, Falcon 9 v1.0, was launched five times from June 2010, to March 2013, its successor Falcon 9 v1.1 15 times from September 2013, to January 2016, and the Falcon 9 Full Thrust (through Block 4) 36 times from December 2015, to June 2018.