Falcon 9 Full Thrust
Falcon 9 Flight 20, the first flight of the Full Thrust, which successfully deployed 11 Orbcomm satellites and achieved the first-ever vertical landing of an orbital rocket's first stage | |
| Function | Medium-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Cost per launch | |
| Size | |
| Height | 69.8 m (229 ft) with payload fairing 65.7 m (216 ft) with Crew Dragon 63.7 m (209 ft) with Dragon |
| Diameter | 3.7 m (12 ft)[4] |
| Mass | 549,000 kg (1,210,000 lb)[4] |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Orbital inclination | 28.5° |
| Mass | |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Orbital inclination | 27° |
| Mass | |
| Payload to TMI | |
| Mass | 4,020 kg (8,860 lb)[1] |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Falcon 9 |
| Based on | Falcon 9 v1.1 |
| Derivative work | Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy |
| Comparable | |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites |
|
| Total launches | 514[7] |
| Success(es) | 513 |
| Failure(s) | 1 |
| Notable outcome(s) | 1 (AMOS-6 pre-flight destruction) |
| Landings | 490 / 498 attempts |
| First flight | 22 December 2015 (Orbcomm-OG2-2) |
| Last flight | Active |
| Carries passengers or cargo |
|
| First stage | |
| Height | 41.2 m (135 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
| Powered by | 9 × Merlin 1D |
| Maximum thrust | |
| Specific impulse | |
| Burn time | 162 seconds[4] |
| Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
| Second stage | |
| Height | 13.8 m (45 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
| Powered by | 1 × Merlin 1D Vacuum |
| Maximum thrust | 934 kN (210,000 lbf)[4] |
| Specific impulse | 348 s (3.41 km/s)[4] |
| Burn time | 397 seconds[4] |
| Propellant | LOX / RP-1 |
Falcon 9 Full Thrust (also known as Falcon 9 v1.2) is a partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle[a] when reused and Heavy-lift launch vehicle when expended designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. It is the third major version of the Falcon 9 family, designed starting in 2014, with its first launch operations in December 2015. It was later refined into the Block 4 and Block 5. As of September 18, 2025, all variants of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust (including Block 4 and 5) had performed 514 launches with only one failure: Starlink Group 9-3.
On 22 December 2015, the Full Thrust version of the Falcon 9 family was the first launch vehicle on an orbital trajectory to successfully vertically land a first stage. The landing followed a technology development program conducted from 2013 to 2015. Some of the required technology advances, such as landing legs, were pioneered on the Falcon 9 v1.1 version, but that version never landed intact. Starting in 2017, previously flown first-stage boosters were reused to launch new payloads into orbit.[9][10] This quickly became routine, in 2018 and in 2019 more than half of all Falcon 9 flights reused a booster. In 2020 the fraction of reused boosters increased to 81%.
Falcon 9 Full Thrust is a substantial upgrade over the previous Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, which flew its last mission in January 2016. With uprated first- and second-stage engines, a larger second-stage propellant tank, and propellant densification, the vehicle can carry substantial payloads to geostationary orbit and perform a propulsive landing for recovery.[11]
- ^ a b c d "Capabilities & Services (2016)". SpaceX. 28 November 2012. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Baylor, Michael (17 May 2018). "With Block 5, SpaceX to increase launch cadence and lower prices". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle Payload User's Guide" (PDF). 21 October 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Falcon 9". SpaceX. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ Sesnic, Trevor (25 February 2024). "Starlink Group 6-39 – Falcon 9 Block 5". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Falcon 9 Block 5 | SXM-7". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Falcon-9". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Falcon 9". SpaceX. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
- ^ "SpaceX launches, retrieves its first recycled rocket". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ Chang, Kenneth (30 March 2017). "SpaceX Launches a Satellite With a Partly Used Rocket". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ B. de Selding, Peter (16 October 2015). "SpaceX Changes its Falcon 9 Return-to-flight Plans". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
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