 Falcon 1 flight 4, the first successful launch of a privately developed, fully liquid-fueled rocket to enter orbit around the Earth. | |
| Function | Small-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Project cost | US$90 million |
| Cost per launch | US$7 million |
| Size | |
| Height | 21 m (68 ft 11 in) |
| Diameter | 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Mass | 28,000 kg (62,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Orbital inclination | 9.0 - 9.35° |
| Mass | |
| Payload to SSO | |
| Mass | 200 kg (440 lb)[3] |
| Associated rockets | |
| Derivative work | Falcon 9 v1.0 |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired[4] |
| Launch sites | Omelek Island |
| Total launches | 5 |
| Success(es) | 2 |
| Failure(s) | 3 |
| First flight | 24 March 2006, 22:30 UTC |
| Last flight | 14 July 2009, 03:35 UTC |
| First stage | |
| Powered by | 1 × Merlin 1A (first 2 flights) 1 × Merlin 1C (final 3 flights) |
| Maximum thrust | 450 kN (100,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 255 s (2.50 km/s) at sea level |
| Burn time | 169 s |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Powered by | 1 × Kestrel |
| Maximum thrust | 31 kN (7,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 327 s (3.21 km/s) |
| Burn time | 378 s |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX |
| Part of a series on |
| Private spaceflight |
|---|
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| Active companies |
| Active vehicles |
| Contracts and programs |
| Related |
Falcon 1 was a two-stage small-lift launch vehicle that was operated from 2006 to 2009[5] by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. On 28 September 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to successfully reach orbit.[6]: 203 [7]
The Falcon 1 used LOX/RP-1 for both stages, the first stage powered by a single pump-fed Merlin engine, and the second stage powered by SpaceX's pressure-fed Kestrel vacuum engine.
The vehicle was launched a total of five times. After three failed launch attempts, Falcon 1 achieved orbit on its fourth attempt in September 2008 with a mass simulator as a payload. On 14 July 2009, Falcon 1 made its second successful flight, delivering the Malaysian RazakSAT satellite to orbit on SpaceX's first commercial launch (fifth and final launch overall).
While SpaceX had announced an enhanced variant, the Falcon 1e,[4] following this flight, the Falcon 1 was retired in favor of the Falcon 9 v1.0, the first version of the company’s successful and long-running Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
- ^ Highlights in Space 2005: Progress in Space Science, Technology and Applications, International Cooperation and Space Law. International Astronautical Federation, United Nations. Office for Outer Space Affairs, International Institute of Space Law. 2006. p. 11. ISBN 978-9211009897.
- ^ "SpaceX Falcon Data Sheet". Space Launch Report. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Users Guide" (PDF). www.georing.biz. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Falcon 1". Space Exploration Technologies Corporation. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ Engel, Max (1 March 2013). "Launch Market on Cusp of Change". Satellite Today. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
SpaceX is not the first private company to try to break through the commercial space launch market. The company, however, appears to be the real thing. Privately funded, it had a vehicle before it got money from NASA, and while NASA's space station resupply funds are a tremendous boost, SpaceX would have existed without it.
- ^ Vance, Ashlee (2015). Elon Musk : Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-230123-9.
- ^ Tariq Malik (29 September 2008). "SpaceX Successfully Launches Falcon 1 Rocket Into Orbit". Space.com. Retrieved 6 April 2022.