Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium-lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX. It can also be used as an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle. The first Falcon 9 launch was in June 2010. The first Falcon 9 ISS commercial resupply mission to the ISS launched on 8 October 2012.[1] In 2020 it became the first commercial rocket to ever launch humans to orbit and is currently the only such vehicle capable of doing so.[2] It is the only U.S. rocket currently certified for transporting humans to the International Space Station.[3][4][5] In 2022, it became the U.S. rocket with the most launches in history and with the best safety record, having suffered just one flight failure.[6]
The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payload to a pre-determined altitude, after which the second stage lifts the payload to its ultimate destination. The booster is capable of landing vertically to facilitate reuse. This feat was first achieved on flight 20 in December 2015. As of Template:Falcon rocket statistics, SpaceX has successfully landed boosters Template:Falcon rocket statistics times.[upper-alpha 1] Individual boosters have flown as many as 16 flights.[7] Both stages are powered by SpaceX Merlin engines, using cryogenic liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) as propellants.[8][9]
The heaviest payloads flown to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) were Intelsat 35e carrying 6,761 kg (14,905 lb), and Telstar 19V with 7,075 kg (15,598 lb). The former was launched into an advantageous super-synchronous transfer orbit,[10] while the latter went into a lower-energy GTO, with an apogee well below the geostationary altitude.[11] On 24 January 2021, Falcon 9 set a record for the most satellites launched by a single rocket, carrying 143 into orbit.[12]
Falcon 9 is human-rated for transporting NASA astronauts to the ISS. Falcon 9 is certified for the National Security Space Launch[13] program and NASA Launch Services Program as "Category 3", which can launch the most expensive, important, and complex NASA missions.[14]
The rocket evolved through several versions. V1.0 flew from 2010–2013, V1.1 flew from 2013–2016, while V1.2 Full Thrust first launched in 2015, encompassing the Block 5 variant, is in operation since May 2018.
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