Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Trading as SpaceX, is a private American aerospace manugacturer headquarter California.

main astronaut image

Starlink Mission

FALCON9

Falcon 9 is a two-stage designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit

DRAGON SPACECRAFT

Dragon carries cargo in the spacecraft's passurized capsule and unpressurized trunk, which can also acccommodate secondary payloads. In the future, Dragon will carry astronauts in the pressurized capsule as well.

COMPOSITE FAIRING

The payload fairing is for the delivery of satellites to destinations in low Earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and beyond.

FIRST STAGE

Falcon 9's first stage incorporates nine Merlin engines and aluminum-lithium alloy tanks containing liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellant.

ENGINE

9

BURNTIME

162 SEC

Thrust At Sea Level

7,607kN1
First_part_of_rocket Second_part_of_rocket Third_part_of_rocket
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PAYLOAD

Falcon 9 delivers payloads to space aboard the Dragon spacecraft or inside a composite fairing.

SECOND STAGE

The second stage, powered by a single Merlin vacuum engine, delivers Falcon 9's payload to the desired orbit. For maximum reliability, the second stage has redundant igniter systems.

ENGINE

1

BURNTIME

397 SEC

Thrust At Sea Level

934kN210
engines graphics

NINE MARLINE ENGINES

With its nine first-stage Merlin engines clustered together, Falcon 9 can sustain up to two engine shutdowns during flight and still successfully complete its mission. Falcon 9 is the only launch vehicle in its class with this key reliability feature.