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Learn about Falcon 9, a two-stage rocket that can launch satellites and spacecraft to various orbits. See its dimensions, mass, engines, landing legs, grid fins, and payload fairing.
- Falcon Heavy
Falcon Heavy is composed of three reusable Falcon 9...
- Starship
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket –...
- Falcon Heavy
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium-lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, [A] designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX. It can also be used as an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle. [B] The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June 2010.
May 18, 2024 · A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched for the 21st time tonight (May 17), setting a new reusability record for the company. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force...
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- What Are The White Spots and Lines on Reused Boosters?
- Why Do Boosters Get Darker Every Flight?
- Why Doesn’T SpaceX Clean The Boosters?
- Why Does SpaceX Use Droneships to Land Boosters? Why Not Return to Land?
- Why Don’T Other Rocket Companies Reuse Their Boosters?
- How Do I Know When The Booster Will Arrive in Port?
- Where Should I Go to See A Falcon 9 Booster Arriving?
- How Are These Boosters Numbered?
- How Many Times Can A Falcon 9 Booster Launch?
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The spots and lines that appear lighter on the boosters after flight are where SpaceX cleans the boosters for inspections between launches. They focus on inspecting the welds, so they clean those areas to ensure the booster is safe and ready for the next flight but they don’t cleanthe rest of the booster.
During descent, in addition to a large amount of heat generated, a Falcon 9 flies through its own exhaust during the reentry and landing burns. This deposits soot onto the sides of the booster while the legs, in their folded position, create a clean outline where the soot cannot reach.
Simply put, it is extremely costly and delays the re-flight of a booster without providing any tangible benefit. With SpaceX sometimes reusing boosters less than a month after a previous launch, those delays are costly. Likewise, using harsh chemicals or even just directly spraying boosters with water is not ideal. It doesn’t take much to cause iss...
Landing boosters on droneships saves a great deal of fuel and increases the possible payload the booster can carry to orbit. When landing on a drone ship, the booster can continue on its trajectory and land a few hundred kilometers out into the ocean, but for a return to the launch site, the booster needs an additional boost back burn to cancel the...
Reusing boosters is expensive and potentially risky. There is an added degree of complexity that comes with the reuse of boosters. SpaceX has an array of chartered vessels to safely return boosters, fairings, and Dragon capsules back to port which all cost money. Reusing boosters also decrease the payload to orbit of a rocket. Any fuel that needs t...
Depending on the specific trajectory of the mission, boosters launched from Florida usually arrive in Port Canaveral about 3-4 days after launch. The return can be tracked using apps like MarineTraffic if you pay for Satellite tracking, free tracking is available if they are near the shoreline. An excellent resource for the time of these arrivals i...
When a Falcon 9 booster is coming into port it can be seen for miles along Cocoa Beach. To get the best, up-close view you can enter Jetty Park to see the booster arrive from on the Pier. It costs $15 a day to enter or you can purchase an annual pass. If you don’t want to pay for viewing, Freddie Patrick Boat Ramp is a public boat ramp directly nex...
Falcon 9 Boosters are numbered with a B followed by a four-digit number. The original V1.0 boosters started with B0000, but after the first seven they moved to B1001 and count up sequentially from there. There is a second number that follows the booster number, which is often used to designate the launch number. This is separated by either a period...
Simply put, SpaceX doesn’t know. Originally thought to be 10 reuses, the amount of degradation was far less than expected and Elon has speculated that they could reach 100 launches of an individual booster. With more reuse means there will need to be more refurbishment, but SpaceX plans to continue pushing the life-leading boosters to their limits ...
Learn about Falcon 9, the world's first orbital-class reusable rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Find out how it works, why it is reusable, and how to track its launches and landings.
Nov 4, 2023 · A Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:37 p.m. EDT (0047 GMT on Nov....
Watch live coverage as SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket with 23 second-generation Starlink internet satellites. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for...
May 30, 2020 · NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station on May 30, 2020. This was the first test flight of a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft with astronauts on board as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
