It is the only commercial rocket to ever launch humans to orbit. rocket certified for transporting humans to the International Space Station. Īs of January 2021, Falcon 9 had the most launches among U.S. The first mission launched on 8 October 2012. Falcon 9 is certified for the National Security Space Launch program and NASA Launch Services Program as "Category 3", which can launch the most expensive, important, and complex NASA missions. įalcon 9 is human-rated for transporting NASA astronauts to the ISS. The former was launched into an advantageous super-synchronous transfer orbit, while the latter went into a lower-energy GTO, with an apogee well below the geostationary altitude. 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). Both stages are powered by SpaceX Merlin engines, using cryogenic liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene ( RP-1) as propellants. Individual boosters have flown as many as 15 flights. Since then, SpaceX has successfully landed boosters over 100 times. This feat was first achieved on flight 20 in December 2015. The booster is capable of landing vertically to facilitate reuse. V1.0 flew from 2010–2013, V1.1 flew from 2013–2016, while V1.2 Full Thrust first launched in 2015, encompassing the Block 5 variant, flying since May 2018. The rocket evolved through several versions. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payload to a certain altitude, after which the second stage lifts the payload to its ultimate destination. Falcon 9 is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX.
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