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The manufacture of first-stage booster constitutes about 60% of the launch price of a single expended Falcon 9 [1] (and three of them over 80% of the launch price of an expended Falcon Heavy), which led SpaceX to develop a program dedicated to recovery and reuse of these boosters.
The Falcon 9 has evolved through several versions: v1.0 was launched five times from 2010 to 2013, v1.1 launched 15 times from 2013 to 2016, Full Thrust launched 36 times from 2015 to 2015. The most recent version, Block 5, was introduced in May 2018. [10] With each iteration, the Falcon 9 has become more powerful and capable of vertical landing.
But it is an increase. And while Falcon's $69.75 million price tag is still a whole lot slimmer than Vulcan's $110 million price; the difference is narrower than it was just a couple of months ago ...
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable, human-rated, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle [a] designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX.The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June 2010, and the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on 8 October 2012. [14]
Falcon 9 v1.1 was developed in 2010–2013, and made its maiden flight in September 2013. The Falcon 9 v1.1 is 60 percent heavier, with 60 percent more thrust than the v1.0 version of the Falcon 9. [23] It includes realigned first-stage engines [24] and 60 percent longer fuel tanks, making it more susceptible to bending during flight. [23]
For secondary payloads up to 300 kg (660 lb) if customers signed up 12 months in advance SpaceX offered a base price of US$4.5 million and if 6 months in advance US$6 million. Flights were planned to be launched from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, starting from November 2020 on the Falcon 9 rocket. [9] [10]
The FAA grounded the Falcon 9 rocket last week in order to investigate why a rocket booster from an uncrewed SpaceX mission tipped over and exploded early Wednesday upon returning to Earth.
The third version of the Falcon 9 was developed in 2014–2015 and made its maiden flight in December 2015. The Falcon 9 Full Thrust is a modified reusable variant of the Falcon 9 family with capabilities that exceed the Falcon 9 v1.1, including the ability to "land the first stage for geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions on the drone ship" [14] [15] The rocket was designed using ...