Thank you very much for visiting Gunter's Space Page. I hope that this site is useful and informative for you.
If you appreciate the information provided on this site, please consider supporting my work by making a simple and secure donation via PayPal. Please help to run the website and keep everything free of charge. Thank you very much.
Falcon-9
 Falcon-9 v1.0 |
 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) (CASSIOPE) |
Falcon-9 v1.1 (Dragon CRS-3) |
Falcon-9 v1.2 (Iridium-NEXT 1) |
 Falcon-Heavy (Tesla Roadster) |
Falcon-9 is a liquid fueled orbital launch vehicle for medium to heavy sized missions, which is developmened by SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.). It is techonologically based on the Falcon-1 launch vehicle. Both stages are Kerosene / LOX fueled.
The first stage, which is potentially reusable after recovery by parachutes (v1.0) or by powered landing (v1.1 and later), is powered by 9 of the SpaceX built Merlin-1C (v1.0) or Merlin-1D (v1.1) engines with regenerative cooling. The upper stage uses a single Merlin engine and will also be potentially reusable. The Falcon-9 is offered with a 5.2 m fairing.
Launch site for low inclination launches is Cape Canaveral launch pad SLC-40. High inclination launches will launch from Vandenberg AFB. An additional launch site near Brownsville, Texas, is also under consideration.
The Falcon-9 will also lift the Dragon space capsule for ISS cargo flights, which might be developed into a manned spacecraft.
The first flight for a Falcon-9 v1.0 took place in June 2010. In 2013, the enlarged Falcon-9 v1.1 took over, featuring higher powered Merlin-1D engines in a new octagonal arrangement and larger tanks.
The first landings on a barge was tried on the Dragon CRS-5 and Dragon CRS-6 missions, but both failed. The first mission of the Falcon-9 v1.2 performed a successful landing of the first stage on land. Some later flights might also use a floating barge for landing, if performance requires it.
| Version | Strap-On | Stage 1 | Stage 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon-9 v1.0 | - | Stage 1 / 9 × Merlin-1C | Stage 2 / Merlin-1C-Vac |
| Falcon-9 v1.1 | - | Stage 1 (str., reusable) / 9 × Merlin-1D | Stage 2 (str.) / Merlin-1D-Vac |
| Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) | - | Stage 1 (str.) / 9 × Merlin-1D | Stage 2 (str.) / Merlin-1D-Vac |
| Falcon-9 v1.2 (Falcon-9FT) | - | Stage 1 (str., reusable) / 9 × Merlin-1D (upr.) | Stage 2 (str. +) / Merlin-1D-Vac (upr.) |
| Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) (Falcon-9FT(ex)) | - | Stage 1 (str.) / 9 × Merlin-1D (upr.) | Stage 2 (str. +) / Merlin-1D-Vac (upr.) |
| Falcon-9 v1.3 ? (Falcon-9 Block 5) | - | Stage 1 (str., reusable) / 9 × Merlin-1D (upr.+) | Stage 2 (str. +) / Merlin-1D-Vac (upr.+) |
| Falcon-9 ATB | - | Stage 1 (str.) / 3 × Merlin-1D | Dummy Stage 2 (str.) ? |
| Falcon-Heavy | 2 × Stage 1 (str., reusable) / 9 × Merlin-1D | Stage 1 (str., reusable) / 9 × Merlin-1D | Stage 2 (str.) / Merlin-1D-Vac |
| Falcon-Heavy (ex) | 2 × Stage 1 (str.) / 9 × Merlin-1D | Stage 1 (str.) / 9 × Merlin-1D | Stage 2 (str.) / Merlin-1D-Vac |
| Performance (kg) | LEO | LPEO | SSO | GTO | GEO | MolO | IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon-9 v1.0 | 9900 | 4050 | - | ||||
| Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) | 10450 | 9000 | 8159 | 4850 | - | 2473 | |
| Falcon-9 v1.1 | - | ||||||
| Falcon-9 v1.2 (Falcon-9FT) | 22800 | 5300 | - | 4020 | |||
| Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) (Falcon-9FT(ex)) | 6700 | - | |||||
| Falcon-Heavy | 8000 | ||||||
| Falcon-Heavy (ex) | 63800 | 26700 | 16800 |
No. TypNo Type Serial/Core Date LS Payload
1 1 Falcon-9 v1.0 B0003 04.06.2010 CC SLC-40 Dragon Qualification Unit 2 2 Falcon-9 v1.0 . 08.12.2010 CC SLC-40 Dragon C1 / SMDC-ONE 1 / QbX 1 / QbX 2 / Mayflower-Caerus / Perseus 000 / Perseus 001 / Perseus 002 / Perseus 003 3 3 Falcon-9 v1.0 . 22.05.2012 CC SLC-40 Dragon C2 / Celestis 11 4 4 Falcon-9 v1.0 . 08.10.2012 p CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-1 / Orbcomm FM101 5 5 Falcon-9 v1.0 . 01.03.2013 CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-2 6 1 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) . 29.09.2013 Va SLC-4E CASSIOPE 1 / CUSat / DANDE / POPACS 1 / POPACS 2 / POPACS 3 7 2 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) . 03.12.2013 CC SLC-40 SES 8 8 3 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) . 06.01.2014 CC SLC-40 Thaicom 6 9 1 Falcon-9 v1.1 . 18.04.2014 n CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-3 / OPALS⇑ / HDEV⇑ / ALL-STAR/THEIA / KickSat 1 / SporeSat 1 / TSAT / PhoneSat 2.5 /104 Sprites 10 2 Falcon-9 v1.1 . 14.07.2014 n CC SLC-40 Orbcomm FM103 / FM104 / FM106 / FM107 / FM109 / FM111 / Orbcomm-OG2 Mass Simulator 11 4 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) . 05.08.2014 CC SLC-40 AsiaSat 8 12 5 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) . 07.09.2014 CC SLC-40 AsiaSat 6 13 6 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) . 21.09.2014 CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-4 / RapidScat⇑ / SpinSat↑ 14 3 Falcon-9 v1.1 . 10.01.2015 r CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-5 / CATS⇑ / Flock-1d' 1↑ / Flock-1d' 2↑ / AESP-14↑ 15 4 Falcon-9 v1.1 . 11.02.2015 n CC SLC-40 DSCOVR 16 7 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) . 02.03.2015 CC SLC-40 ABS 3A / Eutelsat 115 West B 17 5 Falcon-9 v1.1 . 14.04.2015 r CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-6 / Flock-1e 1, ..., 14↑ / Arkyd 3-Reflight↑ / Centennial 1↑ 18 8 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) . 27.04.2015 CC SLC-40 TürkmenÄlem 52E 19 6 Falcon-9 v1.1 . 28.06.2015 F CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-7 / IDA 1⇑ / Flock-1f 1, ..., 8↑ 20 1 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1019.1 22.12.2015 CC SLC-40 Orbcomm FM105 / FM108 / FM110 / FM112 / FM113 / FM114 / FM115 / FM116 / FM117 / FM118 / FM119 / Orbcomm-OG2 Mass Simulator 2 21 7 Falcon-9 v1.1 . 17.01.2016 r Va SLC-4E Jason 3 22 2 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1020.1 ? 04.03.2016 r CC SLC-40 SES 9 23 3 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1021.1 08.04.2016 CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-8 / BEAM⇑ 24 4 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1022.1 06.05.2016 CC SLC-40 JCSat 14 25 5 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1023.1 27.05.2016 CC SLC-40 Thaicom 8 26 6 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1024.1 ? 15.06.2016 r CC SLC-40 Eutelsat 117 West B / ABS 2A 27 7 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1025.1 18.07.2016 CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-9 / IDA 2⇑ 28 8 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1026.1 ? 14.08.2016 CC SLC-40 JCSat 16 -- - Falcon-9 v1.2 B1028.1 ? (01.09.2016) F% CC SLC-40 AMOS 6 29 9 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1029.1 14.01.2017 Va SLC-4E Iridium-NEXT 102 / 103 / 104 / 105 / 106 / 108 / 109 / 111 / 112 / 114 30 10 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1031.1 19.02.2017 CCK LC-39A Dragon CRS-10 / SAGE 3⇑ / STP-H5⇑ 31 1 Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) B1030 16.03.2017 CCK LC-39A EchoStar 23 32 11 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1021.2 30.03.2017 CCK LC-39A SES 10 33 12 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1032.1 01.05.2017 CCK LC-39A NROL 76 (USA 276) 34 2 Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) B1034 15.05.2017 CCK LC-39A Inmarsat-5 F4 (GX 4) 35 13 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1035.1 03.06.2017 CCK LC-39A Dragon CRS-11 / NICER⇑ / MUSES⇑ / ROSA⇑ / Bird B↑ / Bird G↑ / Bird J↑ / Bird M↑ / Bird N↑ 36 14 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1029.2 23.06.2017 CCK LC-39A BulgariaSat 1 37 15 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1036.1 25.06.2017 Va SLC-4E Iridium-NEXT 113 / 115 / 117 / 118 / 120 / 121 / 123 / 124 / 126 / 128 38 3 Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) B1037 05.07.2017 CCK LC-39A Intelsat 35e 39 16 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1039.1 14.08.2017 CCK LC-39A Dragon CRS-12 / CREAM⇑ / Kestrel Eye 2M↑ / Dellingr↑ / ASTERIA↑ / OSIRIS-3U↑ 40 17 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1038.1 24.08.2017 Va SLC-4E FORMOSAT 5 41 18 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1040.1 07.09.2017 CCK LC-39A X-37B OTV-5 (USA 277) / (CubeSats ?) 42 19 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1041.1 09.10.2017 Va SLC-4E Iridium-NEXT 107 / 119 / 122 / 125 / 127 / 129 / 132 / 133 / 136 / 139 43 20 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1031.2 11.10.2017 CCK LC-39A EchoStar 105/SES 11 44 21 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1042.1 30.10.2017 CCK LC-39A Koreasat 5A 45 22 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1035.2 15.12.2017 CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-13 / TSIS⇑ / SDS⇑ 46 4 Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) B1036.2 23.12.2017 Va SLC-4E Iridium-NEXT 116 / 130 / 131 / 134 / 135 / 137 / 138 / 141 / 151 / 153 47 23 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1043.1 08.01.2018 CC SLC-40 ZUMA (USA 280) 48 24 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1032.2 31.01.2018 n CC SLC-40 GovSat 1 (SES 16) 49 1 Falcon-Heavy B1033.1/23.2/25.2 06.02.2018 r CCK LC-39A Tesla Roadster 50 5 Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) B1038.2 22.02.2018 Va SLC-4E Paz / MicroSat 2a / MicroSat 2b 51 25 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1044.1 06.03.2018 n CC SLC-40 Hispasat 30W-6 / PODSAT 1 52 26 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1041.2 30.03.2018 n Va SLC-4E Iridium-NEXT 140 / 142 / 143 / 144 / 145 / 146 / 148 / 149 / 150 / 157 53 27 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1039.2 02.04.2018 n CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-14 / MISSE-FF 1⇑ / ASIM⇑ / PFCS⇑ / RemoveDEBRIS↑ / DebrisSat 1↑ / DebrisSat 2↑ / UBAKUSAT↑ / 1KUNS-PF↑ / Irazú↑ 54 28 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1045.1 18.04.2018 CC SLC-40 TESS (MIDEX 7) 55 29 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1046.1 11.05.2018 CCK LC-39A Bangabandhu 1 56 6 Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) B1043.2 22.05.2018 Va SLC-4E Iridium-NEXT 110 / 147 / 152 / 161 / 162 / GRACE-FO 1 / GRACE-FO 2 57 7 Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) B1040.2 04.06.2018 CC SLC-40 SES 12 58 8 Falcon-9 v1.2(ex) B1045.2 29.06.2018 CC SLC-40 Dragon CRS-15 / ECOSTRESS⇑ / Biarri-Squad 1, 2, 3↑ / Bird BTN↑ / Bird MYS↑ / Bird PHL↑ 59 30 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1047.1 22.07.2018 CC SLC-40 Telstar 19V 60 31 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1048.1 25.07.2018 Va SLC-4E Iridium-NEXT 154 / 155 / 156 / 158 / 159 / 160 / 163 / 164 / 165 / 166 61 32 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1046.2 07.08.2018 CC SLC-40 Telkom 4 62 33 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1049.1 10.09.2018 CC SLC-40 Telstar 18V (APStar 5C) 63 34 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1048.2 07.10.2018 Va SLC-4E SAOCOM 1A planned launches: Note: several of the CC launches might launch from CCK or BC Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 CC AMOS 17 2 Falcon-Heavy . xx.01.2019 CCK LC-39A ArabSat 6A Falcon-9 v1.2 B1051.1 xx.11.2018 CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon 1 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.04.2019 CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon 2 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.201x CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon 3 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.201x CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon 4 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.201x CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon 5 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.201x CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon 6 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.201x CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon 7 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.201x CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon 8 Falcon-9-ATB . xx.xx.2018 * CCK LC-39A Crew Dragon Abort Test Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.11.2018 CCK LC-39A Dragon CRS-16 / GEDI⇑ Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.10.2018 CC Dragon CRS-17 / OCO 3⇑ / STP-H6⇑ Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.05.2019 CC Dragon CRS-18 / IDA 3⇑ Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.05.2019 CC Dragon CRS-19 / Bishop⇑ Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.10.2019 CC Dragon CRS-20 / Bartolomeo-CEPHFISS⇑ / HISUI⇑ / FRAM⇑ Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 CC Dragon CRS-21 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.202x CC Dragon CRS-22 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.202x CC Dragon CRS-23 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.202x CC Dragon CRS-24 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.202x CC Dragon CRS-25 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.202x CC Dragon CRS-26 3 Falcon-Heavy . xx.03.2019 CCK LC-39A DSX / FORMOSAT 7A / 7B / 7C / 7D / 7E / 7F / GPIM / OTB 1 / NPSat 1 / Oculus-ASR / Prox 1 / LightSail B / ARMADILLO / FalconSat 7 / TBEx A / TBEx B / Prometheus 2.5 / 2.6 / 2.7 / 2.8 / 2.9 / 2.10 / PSat 2 / BRICSat 2 / TEPCE 1 / TEPCE 2 / CP 9 (LEO) / StangSat / DOTS-X / MiniCarb / Ballast Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.11.2018 CC SLC-40 Es'hail 2 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.20xx CC Eutelsat TBD Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2018 CC GiSAT 1 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1050.1 xx.12.2018 CC GPS-3 1 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 CC GPS-3 2 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 CC GPS-3 4 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 CC GPS-3 5 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 CC GPS-3 6 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.202x CC or BC Inmarsat TBD Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.11.2018 Va SLC-4E Iridium-NEXT xxx / xxx / xxx / xxx / xxx / xxx / xxx / xxx / xxx / xxx Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2020 Va SLC-4E Jason-CS 1 (Sentinel 6A) Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 CC / BC JCSat 18/Kacific 1 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2020 CC KPLO Falcon-Heavy . xx.xx.2020 CCK LC-39A Ovzon 3 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.01.2019 CC PSN 6 / SpaceIL Lunar Lander / (multiple small payloads) Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.02.2019 Va SLC-4E Radarsat Constellation 1 / Radarsat Constellation 2 / Radarsat Constellation 3 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2018 Va SLC-4E SAOCOM 1B / SARE-1B 1 / SARE-1B 2 / SARE-1B 3 / SARE-1B 4 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.12.2018 Va SLC-4E SARah 1 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 Va SLC-4E SARah 2 / SARah 3 Falcon-9 v1.2 B1046.3 xx.11.2018 Va SLC-4E SkySat 14, 15 / Eu:CROPIS / STPSat 5 / FalconSat 6 / NEXTSat 1 / KazSTSAT / eXCITe / SeeMe / ICEYE X2 / BlackSky Global 2 / ESEO / Hawk 1, 2, 3 / Capella 1 / AISTECHSAT 2 / CSIM-FD / Hiber 2 / ITASAT 1 / Landmapper-BC 4 / ROSE 1 / ORS 7A, 7B / Al-Farabi 2 / Astrocast 0.1 / Audacy 0 / BRIO / Centauri 2 / Eaglet 1 / Flock-3s 1, 2, 3 / ICE-Cap / K2SAT / KazSciSat 1 / MinXSS 2 / Orbital Reflector / RAAF M1 / SeaHawk 1 / SNUSAT 2 / THEA / VESTA / ZACUBE 2 / PW-Sat 2 / SNUGLITE / VisionCube / RANGE A, B / Elysium-Star 2 / ExseedSat 1 / Fox 1C / Hamilton 1 / Irvine 02 / JY1-Sat / KNACKSAT / MOVE 2 / SpaceBEE 9, 10, 11 / Suomi-100 / WeissSat 1 / BeeSat 5, 6, 7, 8 / BlackHawk / ENOCH / SIRION Pathfinder 2 / (US Gov) / (US Gov) / (US Gov) / (US Gov) / (US Gov) Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2021 Va SLC-4E SWOT Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2019 CC SXM 7 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2020 CC SXM 8 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2020 CC / BC Türksat 5A Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2021 CC / BC Türksat 5B Falcon-Heavy . xx.xx.202x CCK LC-39A ViaSat 3-TBD Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2021 Va SLC-4E WorldView-Legion 1 / WorldView-Legion 2 / ? Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.2021 CC WorldView-Legion 3 / WorldView-Legion 4 / WorldView-Legion 5 / WorldView-Legion 6 Falcon-Heavy . xx.xx.2020 CCK LC-39A AFSPC 52 Falcon-9 v1.2 . xx.xx.201x CC (Bigelow) ↑ = deployed via ISS airlock ⇑ = non free-flyer payload to be attached to the ISS F failure P partial failure p partial failure (prime payload in usable orbit) r recovery failure (prime mission successful) n no recovery attempted (only for recoverable missions) Failures: Flight 4: One engine of stage one failed 80 sec into the flight, but vehicle was able to compensate for a successful primary mission; second burn before secondary payload release took not place Flight 9: Stage 1 intentionally not recovered Flight 10: Stage 1 intentionally not recovered Flight 14: Stage 1 landed hard on recovery attempt Flight 15: Stage 1 intentionally not recovered Flight 19: Vehicle broke up 2 min 19 sec into the flight due to stage 2 overpressure problem Flight 21: Stage 1 landed hard on recovery attempt Flight 22: Stage 1 landed hard on recovery attempt Flight 26: Stage 1 landed hard on recovery attempt Flight 48: Stage 1 intentionally not recovered Flight 49: Stage 1 core stage landing failure Flight 51: Stage 1 intentionally not recovered due to bad weather Flight 52: Stage 1 intentionally not recovered Flight 53: Stage 1 intentionally not recovered Launch sites: BC = Boca Chica Beach, Boca Chica, Texas, USACC = Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Eastern Test Range, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA
