Falcon 9

The Falcon 9 is a low cost launch vehicle designed by SpaceX, powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1).[1] This vehicle has been chosen by NASA to take over re-supplying the International Space Station after the retirement of the Space Shuttle in July. Falcon 9 has just completed a wet dress rehearsal at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in August, and it is scheduled to launch on November 30^th to deliver the first payload to the International Space Station.[2] 

First launched on June 4^th 2010, Falcon 9 successfully placed the Dragon capsule in orbit, opening the way for a whole new generation of private rockets as cargo suppliers and eventually astronauts carriers to the international research laboratory in Earth’s orbit, and further into deep space. While NASA had already built its rockets with private companies, Falcon 9 is even more private, and much more cost-effective: the 1.6 billion contract between NASA and SpaceX covers a minimum of 12 flights to the ISS.[3] The launch vehicles developed by SpaceX seem to have increased reliability and performance, and reduced cost by a factor of ten.[4] Falcon 9 is estimated to cost between 54 and 59.5 million dollars per flight.

The Falcon 9 is equipped with nine Merlin engines designed by SpaceX and believed to be very reliable, with the capability of sustaining an engine failure during the flight, and still completing the mission successfully. The vehicle also has a hold-before-release system that holds it down until confirmed that all of the vehicle’s systems function properly, with an automatic shutdown and propellant unloading if any problem is detected.[5] Each of the nine engines has a 125,000 lbf sea level thrust, giving the rocket a total thrust at liftoff of just over 1.1 million lbf. Falcon 9 has a length of 180 ft, and a width of 12 ft.[6]

The November 30^th launch carrying the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station is the first under the partnership between NASA and the commercial space industry for using private rockets to deliver payload to the ISS, and an important milestone in developing the role of the private sector in space flight.[7] Dragon has autonomous rendezvous and docking systems, and it is re-usable through its water landing parachute design. A successful Falcon 9 will be followed by Falcon Heavy, believed to be the world’s most powerful rocket, able to lift nearly twice the payload of the Space Shuttle. Falcon Heavy will be the first rocket with propellant cross-feed from the side boosters, to the center core, allowing the center core to carry most of its propellant after the side boosters jettison, a performance similar to a three-stage rocket.[8]

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[1] SpaceX, Falcon 9 Overview, 2011. http://www.spacex.com/falcon9.php#falcon9_overview (accessed September 5, 2011).

[2] Clark, Stephen, SpaceX fuels Falcon 9 rocket; Dragon to arrive next month, Spaceflight Now, August 16, 2011. http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/110816wdr/ (accessed September 5, 2011).

[3] SpaceX, Falcon 9 Overview, 2011. http://www.spacex.com/falcon9.php#falcon9_overview (accessed September 5, 2011).

[4] ORBCOMM, I. c., ORBCOMM and SpaceX Set Plans to Launch Satellites on Next Falcon 9 Launch. Business Wire. EBSCOhost. (accessed September 5, 2011).

[5] SpaceX, Falcon 9 Overview, 2011. http://www.spacex.com/falcon9.php#falcon9_overview (accessed September 5, 2011).

[6] SpaceX, Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle Payload User’s Guide. http://www.spacex.com/Falcon9UsersGuide_2009.pdf (accessed September 5, 2011), p. 8.

[7] Clark, Stephen, SpaceX fuels Falcon 9 rocket; Dragon to arrive next month, Spaceflight Now, August 16, 2011. http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/110816wdr/ (accessed September 5, 2011).

[8] SpaceX, Falcon Heavy Overview, 2011. http://www.spacex.com/falcon_heavy.php (accessed September 5, 2011).