Falcon 9

By Sean Kim '20

The far-fetched fantasy of living on a different planet has reached a step closer to reality with the emergence of Falcon 9. Space X, the brilliance behind the production of Falcon 9, believes the ability to reuse rockets is an essential advance towards reducing expense, paving the path to the beginning of civilization on another planet. Unlike the average expectation of all rockets being able to fly outwards and return home safely, in reality, there is no coming back for all space transport, until now. Falcon 9 was designed and built entirely by the U.S with the objective to create a reusable rocket for delivering cargo to space stations.

The intricate shipment can be separated into two crucial components, the first stage and the second stage. Once the full rocket reaches 80 km above sea level, the first stage will break off and slow down. Eventually the first stage will begin to descend vertically for landing. The process of retrieving the first stage is extremely difficult, as it requires three out of the nine booster engines, supersonic retropulsion, and accurate grid fins in order to slow down the dangerous speed of 3,000 mph to a stable 5 mph.

The rocket as a whole is capable of carrying up to 22,800 kilograms of cargo, and around 20%, can be reused due to the first stage being recoverable. Despite the tough process, 50 of the 52 launches have been successful; one failure due to the loss of the spacecraft, and the other due to the destruction of the spacecraft at the launch during a static fire test. With a success rate of 96 percent, the Falcon 9 opens an opportunity for future development of reusable rockets.

Spacexcmsadmin. “Falcon 9.” SpaceX, SpaceX, 16 Nov. 2012, www.spacex.com/falcon9.

Grush, Loren. “SpaceX Launches Its 11th Used Falcon 9 Rocket on Trip to the International Space Station.” The Verge, The Verge, 2 Apr. 2018, www.theverge.com/2018/4/2/17187972/spacex-falcon-9-nasa-crs-14-launch-watch-live.