Falcon 1

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Falcon 1
Image:SpaceX falcon Washington DC.jpg
Envelope
Length	21.3 m (70 ft)
Diameter	1.7 m (5.5 ft)
Mass	27,200 kg (60,000 pounds)
Stages	2
Stage 1
Engines	1 Merlin
Thrust	343 kN (77,000 lb_f)
Specific impulse	2.6 kN·s/kg (255 s (sea level))
Burn time	169 s
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Stage 2
Engines	1 Kestrel
Thrust	_f 31 kN (7,000 lb)
Specific impulse	3.2 kN·s/kg (327 s (vacuum))
Burn time	378 s
propellant	RP-1/LOX
Payload
200 km, 28°	670 kg (1480 lb)
400 km, 51° (ISS)	580 kg (1280 lb)
700 km (Sun synchronous)	430 kg (950 lb)

The Falcon 1 is a semi-reusable launch vehicle, designed and manufactured by SpaceX to provide commercial launch-to-space services. The two-stage-to-orbit rocket uses Lox/RP-1 for both stages, the first powered by a single Merlin engine and the second powered by a single Kestrel engine.

It is the world's first privately funded and developed liquid-fueled orbital launch vehicle, and is currently priced at US$6.7 million.

1 Design
2 Launch sites
3 First flight failure
4 Further missions
5 Launch log
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

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Design

The Falcon 1 is designed to minimize price per launch for low-Earth-orbit satellites. It is also intended to verify components and structural design concepts that will be reused in the Falcon 5. The first stage returns by parachute to a water landing and is recovered for reuse, while the second stage is not reusable.

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First stage

Image:SpaceX falcon in warehouse.jpg The first stage is made from friction-stir-welded aluminum alloy. It employs a common bulkhead between the LOX and RP-1 tanks, as well as flight pressure stabilization. It can be transported safely without pressurization (like the heavier Delta II isogrid design) but gains additional strength when pressurized for flight (like the Atlas II, which cannot be transported unpressurized). The resulting design has the highest mass fraction of any current first stage. The parachute system, built by Irvin Parachute Corporation, uses a high-speed drogue chute and a main chute.

Until SpaceX gains experience with reusing the first stage, the quoted price presupposes that no reuse of the first stage is taking place. If and when the recycling process is perfected, the launch price may be expected to drop.

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Second stage

The second stage tanks are built with a cryogenic-compatible aluminum–lithium alloy. The helium pressurization system pumps propellant to the engine, supplies pressurized gas for the attitude control thrusters, and is used for zero-g propellant accumulation prior to engine restart. The pressure tanks are made by Arde corporation and are the same as those used in the Delta IV. They consist of an inconel shell wrapped by a composite.

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Launch sequence

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Period = from:-150 till:600 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical order:reverse ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:60 start:-120

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 from:start till:-120 shift:($dx,2)    text:Merlin on internal power  
 from:-120  till:-45  shift:($dx,12)   text:Internal sequencer engages
 from:-45   till:-30  shift:($dx,3)    text:Tank pressurization
 from:-30   till:0    shift:($dx,1)    text:Helium spin-up of turbine
 from:0     till:0    shift:($dx,-4)   text:"Ignition"                           color:S1
 from:0     till:7    shift:($dx,-15)  text:"Falcon 1 clears pad (7 s)"          color:S1
 from:7     till:76   shift:($dx,-20)  text:"Qmax"                               color:S1
 from:76    till:169  shift:($dx,-20)  text:"MECO, stage sep. (169, 170 s)"  color:S1
 from:169   till:170  shift:($dx,-12)  text:"Kestrel ignition (174 s)" color:S2
 from:170   till:194  shift:($dx,-18)  text:"fairing separation (194 s)" color:S2
 from:194   till:552  shift:($dx,-5)   text:"Second-stage burn"  color:S2
 from:552   till:553  shift:($dx,-1)   text:"Kestrel shut down (553 s)"  color:S2
 from:553   till:570  shift:($dx,-9)   text:satellite deployment (570 s)
 from:570   till:600  shift:($dx,-12)  text:re-ignition (demonstration)

</timeline>

Launch sequence (maiden flight example);
time scale is in seconds.

The main engine is ignited and throttled to full power while the launcher is restrained and all systems are verified by the flight computer. If the systems are operating correctly, the rocket is released and clears the tower in about seven seconds. First-stage burn lasts about 2:49 minutes. Stage separation is accomplished with explosive bolts and a pneumatically actuated pusher system. See the launch sequence timeline below for more details.

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Launch sites

The Falcon 1 can be launched from five different sites, with the maiden flight scheduled for Kwajalein and the second flight scheduled for Vandenberg.

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Pad 3W
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 36
Kwajalein Atoll (Omelek Island), part of the Reagan Test Site
Kodiak Island
Wallops Island

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First flight failure

Image:Falcon 1 fire.jpeg The date for the maiden flight of the Falcon 1 had been postponed several times for a number of reasons, including engine problems and being forced by Vandenberg to change launch locations due to delays in the launch of a Titan IV rocket. The maiden flight was planned for Saturday, 26 November 2005, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands carrying a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency payload, but was postponed until mid-December. The payload was the United States Air Force Academy’s FalconSAT–2, which would have measured space plasma phenomena.

During the launch attempt of 19 December 2005, a faulty valve caused a vacuum condition in the first stage, which got sucked inward and was therefore structurally damaged. A decision was made to replace the first stage for this launch and repair the damaged stage for later reuse.

The new target date for the launch was set for 10 February 2006 with a static firing countdown rehearsal scheduled for the day before. However, project managers were unsatisfied with the results of that test and decided to lower the vehicle for closer inspection. Launch on the maiden flight took place on Saturday 25 March 2006 at 09:30 [[UTC+12|local time]] (22:30 UTC, Friday 24 March 2006).

The vehicle had a noticeable rolling motion, as shown on the video before the feed was lost, rocking back and forth a bit, and then at T+26 seconds rapidly pitched over. The rocket impacted the ocean, apparently on its side, at about T+41 seconds.

The first official statement from Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX read:

"We had a successful liftoff and Falcon made it well clear of the launch pad, but unfortunately the vehicle was lost later in the first stage burn. More information will be posted once we have had time to analyze the problem."

On March 24, Space X's website for the official maiden voyage of Falcon 1 said, "Early insights from investigators examining Friday's failed launch of the first SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket suggest a fuel leak triggered a fire that ultimately brought down the booster", the company's founder said today.

The launch vehicle crashed onto a dead reef located about 250 feet from the launch site. During the impact the FalconSAT–2 payload separated from the booster, was thrown high into the air, and then crashed through the roof of a machining room on the island. Reports of damage to the payload range from slight to significant.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the National Space Symposium, on 5 April 2006, Elon Musk reported that a pad processing error was seemingly responsible for allowing the fuel leak to take place. The fuel leak was small in volume, started 4 minutes prior to engine ignition, but could have been prevented if loosening of a small fuel pipe fitting required by work on an avionics box the previous night had been correctly retightened. The leak could also have been spotted during the countdown if the proper measurements had been monitored, according to SpaceX's founder.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

While Musk said in November 2005 that he would not be deterred by the failure of the first launch attempt, he added "if we have three significant failures, then we probably don't know what we are doing. I question whether anyone would want to launch on us if we had three significant failures... We would probably exit the business." <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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Further missions

The second mission is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying a Naval Research Laboratory Tacsat and a Space Services Incorporated space burial payload (which will include remains of James Doohan, Gordon Cooper, and others). This was intended to be the original maiden flight, but delays in a Titan IV launch from the Vandenberg complex had a knock-on effect to SpaceX.

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