Falcon 9

Falcon 9
	Falcon 9 B1058 lifting off from Kennedy LC-39A, carrying Demo-2
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	US$69.75 million (2024)
Size
Height	FT: 69.8 m (229 ft); v1.1: 68.4 m (224 ft); v1.0: 54.9 m (180 ft);
Diameter	3.7 m (12 ft)
Mass	FT: 549,000 kg (1,210,000 lb); v1.1: 506,000 kg (1,116,000 lb); v1.0: 333,000 kg (734,000 lb);
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Orbital inclination	28.5°
Mass	FT: 22,800 kg (50,300 lb) when expended,; 17,500 kg (38,600 lb) when landing on drone ship; v1.1: 13,100 kg (28,900 lb); v1.0: 10,400 kg (22,900 lb);
Payload to GTO
Orbital inclination	27.0°
Mass	FT: 8,300 kg (18,300 lb) when expended,; 5,500 kg (12,100 lb) when landing on drone ship,; 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) when landing at launch site; v1.1: 4,800 kg (10,600 lb); v1.0: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb);
Payload to Mars
Mass	FT: 4,020 kg (8,860 lb)
Associated rockets
Based on	Falcon 1
Derivative work	Falcon Heavy
Launch history
Status	FT Block 5: Active; FT Block 4: Retired; FT: Retired; v1.1: Retired; v1.0: Retired;
Launch sites	Cape Canaveral, SLC-40; Kennedy, LC-39A; Vandenberg, SLC-4E; Vandenberg, SLC-6 (future);
Total launches	492 FT: 472; v1.1: 15; v1.0: 5; ;
Success(es)	489 FT: 471; v1.1: 14; v1.0: 4; ;
Failure(s)	2 (v1.1: CRS-7, FT Block 5: Starlink Group 9-3)
Partial failure(s)	1 (v1.0: CRS-1)
Notable outcome(s)	1 (FT: AMOS-6 pre-flight destruction)
Landings	448 / 459 attempts
First flight	FT Block 5: May 11, 2018 (Bangabandhu-1); FT Block 4: August 14, 2017 (CRS-12); FT: December 22, 2015 (OG2 Flight 2); v1.1: September 29, 2013 (CASSIOPE); v1.0: June 4, 2010 (Dragon Qualification);
Last flight	FT Block 4: June 29, 2018 (CRS-15); FT: February 22, 2018 (Paz/Tintin); v1.1: January 17, 2016 (Jason-3); v1.0: March 1, 2013 (CRS-2);
First stage
Height	39.6 m (130 ft) v1.0 41.2 m (135 ft) v1.1 & FT
Powered by	FT: 9 × Merlin 1D+; v1.1: 9 × Merlin 1D; v1.0: 9 × Merlin 1C;
Maximum thrust	FT Block 5: 7,600 kN (1,700,000 lbf); FT: 6,800 kN (1,500,000 lbf); v1.1: 5,900 kN (1,300,000 lbf); v1.0: 4,900 kN (1,100,000 lbf);
Specific impulse	v1.1 SL: 282 s (2.77 km/s); v1.1 vac: 311 s (3.05 km/s); v1.0 SL: 275 s (2.70 km/s); v1.0 vac: 304 s (2.98 km/s);
Burn time	FT: 162 seconds; v1.1: 180 seconds; v1.0: 170 seconds;
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
Second stage
Height	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) v1.0 13.6 m (45 ft) v1.1 and FT short nozzle 13.8 m (45 ft) FT
Powered by	FT: 1 × Merlin 1D Vacuum; v1.1: 1 × Merlin 1D Vacuum; v1.0: 1 × Merlin 1C Vacuum;
Maximum thrust	FT regular: 934 kN (210,000 lbf); FT short: 840 kN (190,000 lbf); v1.1: 801 kN (180,000 lbf); v1.0: 617 kN (139,000 lbf);
Specific impulse	FT: 348 s (3.41 km/s); v1.1: 340 s (3.3 km/s); v1.0: 342 s (3.35 km/s);
Burn time	FT: 397 seconds; v1.1: 375 seconds; v1.0: 345 seconds;
Propellant	LOX / RP-1

Falcon 9 is a partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010, and the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on October 8, 2012. In 2020, it became the first commercial rocket to launch humans to orbit. The Falcon 9 has been noted for its reliability and high launch cadence, with 489 successful launches, two in-flight failures, one partial failure and one pre-flight destruction. It is the most-launched American orbital rocket in history.

The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payload to a predetermined speed and altitude, after which the second stage accelerates the payload to its target orbit. The booster is capable of landing vertically to facilitate reuse. This feat was first achieved on flight 20 in December 2015. As of June 18, 2025, SpaceX has successfully landed Falcon 9 boosters 448 times. Individual boosters have flown as many as 28 flights. Both stages are powered by SpaceX Merlin engines, using cryogenic liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) as propellants.

The heaviest payloads flown to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) were Intelsat 35e carrying 6,761 kg (14,905 lb), and Telstar 19V with 7,075 kg (15,598 lb). The former was launched into an advantageous super-synchronous transfer orbit, while the latter went into a lower-energy GTO, with an apogee well below the geostationary altitude. On January 24, 2021, Falcon 9 set a record for the most satellites launched by a single rocket, carrying 143 into orbit.

Falcon 9 is human-rated for transporting NASA astronauts to the ISS, certified for the National Security Space Launch program and the NASA Launch Services Program lists it as a "Category 3" (Low Risk) launch vehicle allowing it to launch the agency's most expensive, important, and complex missions.

Several versions of Falcon 9 have been built and flown: v1.0 flew from 2010 to 2013, v1.1 flew from 2013 to 2016, while v1.2 Full Thrust first launched in 2015, encompassing the Block 5 variant, which has been in operation since May 2018.