Falcon 1

The Falcon 1 is a two-stage launch vehicle, which is developed by SpaceX. The first launch of a Falcon 1 took place on 24 March 2006 from the island Omelek in the Pacific, but ended shortly thereafter with the crash of the rocket. It was the fourth flight on 28 September 2008 was successful, the fifth flight on 14 July 2009 brought a commercial payload into orbit. Further launches were not made, it developed into the Falcon 1e has been suspended by SpaceX, to focus on the Falcon 9.

History

The Falcon 1 is the lightest carrier of the Falcon family. Based on the Falcon 1, the far stronger Falcon 9 was developed later, with the aid of which, among others, the $ 50 million America's Space Prize doped wanted to win.

Technology

The Falcon 1 is a two-stage, liquid oxygen and rocket fuel (RP -1) powered rocket. The rocket should be reusable to 80 %, allowing a flight in low Earth orbit for $ 6.7 million. For this, the first stage of the Falcon 1 with the help of parachutes should be returned to Earth, where they should be after an inspection for the next launch. However, the first step could not be recovered in the previous flights. The second stage of the rocket is not reusable.

The length of the Falcon 1 is 21.3 m, diameter 1.7 m, launch weight 27,200 kg, and it is to develop with the aid of the Merlin engine developed by SpaceX yourself a boost of 318 kN at launch. The first stage has a burn time of 169 seconds and will get the rocket to an altitude of 90.3 km. Five seconds after staging the second stage has burned out after 552 seconds and will get the rocket to an altitude of about 405 km starts. Also the second stage Kestrel engine developed by SpaceX. The maximum payload is 670 kg which can be brought into an orbit at 200 km altitude with a start from Cape Canaveral. The maximum amount for a direct exposure of the charge is 700 km at 240 kg and the same starting place.

Inserts

Originally, the initial launch of the Falcon 1 was scheduled for September 2004, but was postponed several times. Also, the first fixed sat launch attempt on 26 November 2005 had to be postponed due to technical problems. The next launch attempt on 19 December 2005 had to be canceled in the fuel tank of the first stage shortly before take-off due to damage. Then the rocket on February 9, 2006 should start, but even this launch attempt was postponed.

The first launch took place on 24 March 2006 at 22:30 UTC clock, but ended with the crash of the rocket. After initial analyzes, a leak in the fuel system was the cause of the crash. The rocket was launched initially planned, at T 25 but broke s (25 seconds after the ignition of the main engine ) in the lower part of the first stage, a of a fuel leak caused fire, which damaged the system operated with helium hydraulic control system of the engine. At T 29 s, the pressure of helium fell from below a critical level, after which the automatic safety system shuts down the main engine. Approximately 41 seconds after launch, the rocket crashed not far from the launch site into the ocean. Later it turned out that an error occurred during the preparation of the missile was responsible for the fuel leak. In its maiden flight, the rocket carried the military microsatellites Falconsat -2 for the U.S. Air Force and DARPA, which paid 8 million dollars for the launch.

The second flight was not wearing a satellite payload, but merely instruments for monitoring the rocket. This flight took place on 21 March 2007, the first stage worked almost flawlessly, but the rocket failed to reach orbit due to a problem with the second stage. Meant that the fuel supply has been affected to the engine and the rocket, therefore, only a speed of 5.1 km / s instead of the planned 7.5 km / s reached to strong oscillations of the second stage. The height reached was 289 miles and was therefore outside the Earth's atmosphere. After the recovery of the planning reusable first stage was not conducted. Despite the problems SpaceX devalued the second flight as a successful test flight and was now ready to commence commercial operation.

On the third flight in January 2008, the rocket should carry as a main payload the U.S. military satellite TacSat 1 into orbit, but this was now obsolete because of the repeated start-up delays and has not been started on this flight. The start of the three experimental satellites Trailblazer, Nano Sail- D and PRESAT and a space burial on this flight was performed instead. However, it was a collision of the two stages and ultimately as a result, a failure of the upper school.

The fourth flight on 28 September 2008 saw a 170 kg heavy aluminum dummy payload successfully into a 644 times 621 km high orbit. Thus, it is the first private satellite transport with a liquid rocket.

The fifth flight on 14 July 2009 successfully promoted the approximately 180 kg Malaysian Earth observation satellites into orbit RazakSat.

Falcon 1e

After the first commercially successful launch of SpaceX announced on August 6, 2009 that the Falcon 1 would be replaced by the Falcon 1e, whose first launch should take place in late 2010. The version 1e should have a larger payload fairing. SpaceX is now but believe that payloads that would be suitable for 1 or Falcon 1e, should be started with the Falcon 9. Until 2017Vorlage: Future / In 3 years no flights with Falcon 1 or Falcon 1e are planned.

Falcon 5

The Falcon 5 was a planned enlarged version of the Falcon 1 rocket, which is based on the same technology. The first stage should be driven by five Merlin engines and just like the first stage of the Falcon 1 with the help of parachutes back to be used again to earth. Through the use of five engines, the Falcon 5 should also be able to fulfill their mission to the failure of one engine. The second stage would have been driven by a modified Merlin engine, which was optimized at an increased exhaust nozzle for operation in the near- vacuum. The Falcon 5 should be able to move into a 200 km high orbit from Cape Canaveral 6020 kg, which they would have been in the performance class of the Delta II rocket.

Following the announcement of plans to develop the Falcon 9 SpaceX first changed the configuration of the Falcon The Falcon 5 5 should be constructed from a modified first stage of the Falcon 9 and can carry a payload of 4,100 kg. With the development of the Falcon 9 was finally waived the Falcon 5.

Specifications

Start list

This is a complete start list of the rocket Falcon 1 state of the list on 4 March 2013.

Itself is known as SpaceX Partial success, since one could collect enough data for operational flights.

¹ gross weight, ie mass of the payload including adapters, housing etc.

² Not necessarily the target orbit of the payload - but the path to the payload of the advanced level should be suspended.