Merlin (rocket engine family)
The Merlin rocket engine is used in the main stage of the Falcon rocket company SpaceX and the is a proprietary development. The fuel used is a mixture of liquid oxygen ( LOX) and rocket fuel RP -1. The first test of a complete Merlin -1 engine was after two years of development in June 2004.
Variants
Merlin 1A
The first generation 1A of the engine was cooled ablation. On all flights, the engine was used as the basis for a Falcon 1 rocket. The first flight on 24 March 2006 struck shortly after the launch fails due to a fuel leak. In the second flight of 21 March 2007, the engine worked flawlessly.
Merlin 1B
The intermediate version 1B never got to use one.
Merlin 1C
The third generation came 1C at the third flight on 6 August 2008 for the first time used. Instead of the previously used ablative cooling has now cooled by the fuel. The additional fuel residues in the cooling loop led to an error in the staging, since the engine shutdown, the residual thrust fell off slower than expected and the subsequent separation was blowing up too early. Then clashed the two stages, after which the upper has been damaged.
In the following flight of the Falcon 1, the problem has been corrected, the rocket successfully reached Earth orbit.
Merlin 1D
For the Falcon Heavy and an uprated version of the Falcon 9 which further increased the thrust Merlin 1D has been developed.