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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]
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]
Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump watch the Crew Dragon Demo-2 Falcon 9 rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center. Three days after the first launch attempt was scrubbed, the Crew Dragon Endeavour launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A at 19:22:45 UTC on 30 May 2020.
The Falcon 9 has evolved through several versions: v1.0 was launched five times from 2010 to 2013, v1.1 launched 15 times from 2013 to 2016, Full Thrust launched 36 times from 2015 to 2015. The most recent version, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018. [10] With each iteration, the Falcon 9 has become more powerful and capable of vertical landing.
The FAA grounded the Falcon 9 rocket last week in order to investigate why a rocket booster from an uncrewed SpaceX mission tipped over and exploded early Wednesday upon returning to Earth.
This flight marked the first time that a Falcon 9 booster made a fourth flight and landing. [471] This was also the first time that a Falcon 9 re-used fairings (from ArabSat-6A in April 2019). [420] It was planned to recover the fairings with both Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief but the plan was abandoned due to rough seas. [426] 76 5 December 2019 17: ...
The launch contract was awarded to SpaceX for US$50.3 million, [235] and is the smallest dedicated payload ever launched by Falcon 9 launch vehicle. [236] However, the required exact equatorial orbit required an orbital plane change that meant an approximately 30% of Falcon 9's maximum theoretical performance for such an orbital profile (1.5-2 ...
SpaceX resumed Falcon 9 flights 15 days later. In August, another grounding was triggered by the failure of a Falcon 9 first stage to land back on Earth, a mishap that did not affect mission success.