Session
Technical Session III: Launch & Propulsion Systems
Abstract
Falcon 1, the entry vehicle in the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) launch vehicle family, is designed to provide the world’s lowest cost access to orbit. The vehicle is designed above all for high reliability, followed by low cost and a benign payload flight environment. It is a two-stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle capable of placing a 700 kg satellite into a 200km circular orbit, inclined 9.1 degrees. Falcon 1 combines a re-usable, turbo-pump fed first stage powered by a single SpaceX Merlin engine with a pressure fed second stage powered by our Kestrel engine and capable of multiple re-starts. A brief summary of the March 24th, 2006 maiden demonstration launch of Falcon 1 from the SpaceX Omelek Island launch facility in the Kwajalein Atoll is presented along with a detailed account of the more recent Demo 2 mission which took flight on March 21st, 2007 from the same location. Though orbit was not achieved on the Demo 2 mission, a significant majority of mission objectives were met from both programmatic and technical perspectives. Details of the eight flight anomalies experienced during the Demo 2 mission are presented herein. Consistent with SpaceX’s corporate philosophy of rapid and continuous improvement, Falcon 1 has a planned upgrade path based upon experience from the Demonstration missions. These vehicle enhancements will be implemented as a block upgrade and will increase the payload capacity to orbit over that of the current Falcon 1 configuration. The Falcon 1 manifest is presented and includes five additional Falcon 1 launches before the end of 2009 with two taking place from Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll and three from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Presentation Slides
The Falcon 1 Launch Vehicle: Demonstration Flights, Status, Manifest, and Upgrade Path
Falcon 1, the entry vehicle in the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) launch vehicle family, is designed to provide the world’s lowest cost access to orbit. The vehicle is designed above all for high reliability, followed by low cost and a benign payload flight environment. It is a two-stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle capable of placing a 700 kg satellite into a 200km circular orbit, inclined 9.1 degrees. Falcon 1 combines a re-usable, turbo-pump fed first stage powered by a single SpaceX Merlin engine with a pressure fed second stage powered by our Kestrel engine and capable of multiple re-starts. A brief summary of the March 24th, 2006 maiden demonstration launch of Falcon 1 from the SpaceX Omelek Island launch facility in the Kwajalein Atoll is presented along with a detailed account of the more recent Demo 2 mission which took flight on March 21st, 2007 from the same location. Though orbit was not achieved on the Demo 2 mission, a significant majority of mission objectives were met from both programmatic and technical perspectives. Details of the eight flight anomalies experienced during the Demo 2 mission are presented herein. Consistent with SpaceX’s corporate philosophy of rapid and continuous improvement, Falcon 1 has a planned upgrade path based upon experience from the Demonstration missions. These vehicle enhancements will be implemented as a block upgrade and will increase the payload capacity to orbit over that of the current Falcon 1 configuration. The Falcon 1 manifest is presented and includes five additional Falcon 1 launches before the end of 2009 with two taking place from Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll and three from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
