![]() The heaviest payload launched to LEO is a batch of 56 Starlink v1.5 satellites weighing a total of around 17,400 kg (38,400 lb) starting from 26 January 2023. ![]() A total of 38 boosters have flown multiple missions, with a record of 17 missions by the same booster.įalcon 9's typical missions include cargo delivery and crewed flights to the International Space Station (ISS) with the Dragon and Dragon 2 capsules, launch of communications satellites and Earth observation satellites to geostationary transfer orbits (GTO), and low Earth orbits (LEO), some of them at a polar inclination. Falcon family core boosters have successfully landed 234 times in 245 attempts. This reusability has resulted in significantly reduced launch costs. In December 2015, Falcon 9 became the first rocket to land propulsively after delivering a payload into orbit. The Falcon design features reusable first-stage boosters, which land either on a ground pad near the launch site or on a drone ship at sea. ![]() Falcon Heavy is a heavy-lift derivative of Falcon 9, combining a strengthened central core with two Falcon 9 first stages as the side boosters. In addition, one rocket and its payload were destroyed on the launch pad during the fueling process before a static fire test was set to occur.ĭesigned and operated by private manufacturer SpaceX, the Falcon 9 rocket family includes the retired versions Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, and v1.2 "Full Thrust" Block 1 to 4, along with the active Block 5 evolution. Since June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 269 times, with 267 full mission successes, one partial failure and one total loss of the spacecraft. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine last month suggested possibly using a Falcon Heavy - and another company's big rocket - to get the space agency's Orion capsule around the Moon in 2020, minus a crew.Left to right: Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, v1.2 "Full Thrust", Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy, and Falcon Heavy Block 5. The US Air Force tapped SpaceX in 2018 to launch a classified military satellite, which cost it $US130 million ($182.3 million), and in February added three more missions in a $297 million contract. Musk's SpaceX, working to prove the flight-worthiness of its rocket fleet one mission at a time, aims to clinch one-third of all US National Security Space missions - coveted contracts that are worth billions of dollars. Race to secure lucrative military contractsĪ successful lift-off with Falcon Heavy's new military-certified Falcon 9 boosters was a crucial element in the race against Boeing-Lockheed venture United Launch Alliance and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to secure lucrative military contracts. The Roadster is thought to be on the other side of the sun from us right now, about three-quarters of the way around its first solar orbit, said senior analyst at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Jon Giorgini. Musk used his own Tesla convertible in last year's demo and the red Roadster - with a mannequin, dubbed Starman, likely still at the wheel - remains in a solar orbit stretching just past Mars. ![]() "The Falcons have landed," Musk said in a tweet that included pictures of all three boosters. ![]()
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