Falcon 1
The Falcon 1 was a two-stage launch vehicle developed by the SpaceX company . The first launch of a Falcon 1 took place on March 24, 2006 from the island of Omelek in the Pacific, but ended shortly after with the crash of the rocket. Only the fourth flight on September 28, 2008 was successful, the fifth flight on July 14, 2009 brought a commercial payload into space. The Falcon 1 was thus the first privately developed rocket that could transport payloads into stable Earth orbit. Further launches did not take place, the further development of the Falcon 1e and Falcon 5 was suspended by SpaceX in order to concentrate on Falcon 9 .
history
The $ 90 million development costs for the Falcon 1 were not publicly funded as usual, but privately. However, the two first launches of the rocket were booked by the US Department of Defense in order to test new launch vehicles made in the USA for the DARPA agency .
The Falcon 1 was the lightest carrier in the Falcon family. The much more powerful Falcon 9 was later developed on the basis of the Falcon 1 .
technology
The Falcon 1 was a two-stage, liquid oxygen and rocket kerosene ( RP-1 ) propelled rocket. The rocket was supposed to be 80% reusable and allowed a flight into low earth orbit for $ 6.7 million. For this purpose, the first stage of the Falcon 1 should be brought back to earth with the help of parachutes , where it should be available for the next launch after an inspection. However, no rescue attempt was made on the five flights that took place. The second stage of the rocket was not reusable.
The length of the Falcon 1 was 21.3 m, the diameter 1.7 m, the takeoff weight 27,200 kg. The Merlin engine developed by SpaceX itself had a thrust of 318 kN when it took off. The first stage had a burn time of 169 seconds and brought the missile to an altitude of 90.3 km. Five seconds after the stage separation, the second stage ignited, which burned out after a total of 552 seconds and could bring the rocket to an altitude of approx. 405 km. The second stage Kestrel engine was also developed by SpaceX. The maximum payload was 670 kg, which could be brought into an orbit with a height of 200 km when taking off from Cape Canaveral . The maximum height with a direct release of the load was 700 km at 240 kg and the same launch site.
Calls
The first launch of the Falcon 1 was originally planned for September 2004, but has been postponed several times. The first, fixed start attempt on November 26, 2005 had to be postponed due to technical problems. The next attempt at take-off on December 19, 2005 had to be canceled shortly before take-off due to damage to the fuel tank of the first stage. The rocket was then supposed to launch on February 9, 2006, but this launch attempt was also postponed.
The launch then took place on March 24, 2006 at 22:30 UTC , but ended with the crash of the rocket. According to initial analyzes, a leak in the fuel system was the cause of the crash. The rocket initially took off as planned, but at T + 25s (25 seconds after igniting the main engine) a fire caused by a fuel leak broke out in the lower part of the first stage, which damaged the helium- powered hydraulic control system of the engine. At T + 29s the helium pressure dropped below a critical level, whereupon the automatic safety system switched off the main engine. About 41 seconds after takeoff, the rocket crashed into the ocean not far from the launch site. It was later found that a mistake during the rocket's preparation was responsible for the fuel leak. On its maiden flight, the rocket carried the military microsatellite FalconSat-2 for the US Air Force and DARPA , which paid 8 million US dollars for the launch.
The second flight carried no satellite payload, only instruments for monitoring the missile. This flight took place on March 21, 2007, the first stage worked almost perfectly, but the rocket could not reach orbit because of a problem with the second stage. Excessive vibrations of the second stage meant that the fuel supply to the engine was impaired and the rocket therefore only reached a speed of 5.1 km / s instead of the planned 7.5 km / s. The height reached was 289 km and was thus outside the earth's atmosphere. The salvage of the first stage, which can be used several times according to the planning, was not carried out. Despite the problems, SpaceX rated the second flight as a successful test flight and was now ready to begin commercial operations.
On the third flight in January 2008, the rocket was supposed to put the US military satellite TacSat 1 into orbit as the main payload , but this was now out of date due to the multiple launch delays and was not launched on this flight. Instead, the launch of the three experimental satellites Trailblazer , NanoSail-D and PreSat as well as a space burial was carried out on this flight. However, there was a collision between the two stages during the stage separation and ultimately a failure of the upper stage as a result.
The fourth flight on September 28, 2008 successfully brought a 170 kg aluminum dummy payload into a 644 by 621 kilometer high orbit. It was thus the first private satellite transport of a liquid rocket .
The fifth flight on July 14th, 2009 successfully put the 180 kg heavy Malaysian earth observation satellite RazakSat into earth orbit.
Falcon 1e
After the first commercially successful launch, SpaceX announced on August 6, 2009 that the Falcon 1 would be replaced by the Falcon 1e and that it would be launched in late 2010. The version 1e should have an enlarged payload fairing. In January 2011 SpaceX decided to discontinue development of the Falcon 1e and to transfer the remaining orders to free capacities of the Falcon 9.
Technical specifications
| version | Falcon 1 | Falcon 1e |
|---|---|---|
| First stage | 1 × Merlin-1 | 1 × Merlin-1D |
| Second step | 1 × Kestrel 2 | 1 × Kestrel 2 |
| Height (maximum) (m) | 23.8 | 27.4 |
| Diameter (m) | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Thrust (on the ground) ( kN ) | 345 | approx. 622 |
| Takeoff mass ( t ) | 27.670 | 44.985 |
|
Payload fairing diameter (m) |
1.5 | 1.71 |
| Payload ( LEO ) (kg) | 420 (flights to SSO with lighter payloads also possible) |
1100 (according to SSO : 550) |
| Payload ( GTO ) (kg) | - | - |
| Price (million US dollars) | 7.9 | 9.1 |
Start list
This is a complete launch list for the Falcon 1 missile.
| Serial No. | Date ( UTC ) | Type | Launch site | payload | Type of payload | Payload in kg (gross¹) | Orbit² | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 24, 2006 | Falcon 1 | Omelek | FalconSat-2 | Technology testing satellite | 21 kg | LEO |
Failure 1st stage failure , missile crash |
| 2 | March 21, 2007 | Falcon 1 | Omelek | DemoSat | Demonstration payload | k. A. | LEO |
Failure Failure in the 2nd stage. Missile reaches an altitude of 289 km and a speed of 5.1 km / s Is called a partial success by SpaceX itself , as it was able to collect enough data for operational flights. |
| 3 | August 3, 2008 | Falcon 1 | Omelek | Trailblazer , NanoSail-D , PreSat , Celestis 07 | Technology testing, solar sails , technology testing, space burial | 170 kg | LEO |
Failure of the first and second stage collision, followed by failure of the second stage |
| 4th | September 28, 2008 | Falcon 1 | Omelek | DemoSat | Demonstration payload | 165 kg | LEO |
success |
| 5 | July 14, 2009 | Falcon 1 | Omelek | RazakSAT | Earth observation satellite | ~ 180 kg | LEO |
success |
¹ Gross weight, ie mass of the payload including adapter, housing etc. ² Not necessarily the target orbit of the payload - but the path on which the payload should be deployed by the upper stage.
Web links
- SpaceX: Falcon 1 ( Memento from January 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- Bernd Leitenberger: Falcon 1
- Norbert Bruges: Falcon-I
- Bernd Leitenberger: Article about the launch of the Falcon missiles
Video
Individual evidence
- ^ Falcon 1 Flight 4 summary ( Memento from July 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), SpaceX
- ↑ a b Falcon 1 Overview. SpaceX, archived from the original on January 3, 2011 ; Retrieved on November 22, 2012 (English): "Current plans are for payloads that would have flown on Falcon 1 to be served by flights on Falcon 9, utilizing excess capacity."
- ^ Commercial Market Assessment for Crew and Cargo Systems. (PDF) In: nasa.gov. NASA, April 27, 2011, accessed May 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Elon Musk Is Betting His Fortune on a Mission Beyond Earth's Orbit | WIRED. September 30, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .
- ^ Graham Warwick and Guy Norris: Blue Sky Thinking: DARPA at 50 . In: Aviation Week & Space Technology . August 2008, p. 18 .
- ↑ Pad Processing Error Doomed Falcon 1
- ↑ SpaceX gives update on Falcon test flight results , March 28, 2007
- ↑ Spacetoday.net: Report: Pentagon cancels TacSat-1 launch (August 18, 2007)
- ↑ Spiegel.de: private rocket "Falcon 1" finally in space
- ↑ Spaceflight Now: Commercial launch of SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket a success
- ↑ SpaceX's Falcon 1e Rocket Replaces Cheaper Falcon 1. Space News, August 10, 2009, accessed on November 22, 2012 : “Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., Will replace its Falcon 1 rocket by the end of 2010 with the more capable and more expensive Falcon 1e rocket, the company said Aug. 6. "
- ↑ a b Gunter Krebs: Falcon-1e. In: Gunter's Space Page. April 1, 2012, accessed November 22, 2012 .
- ↑ Bernd Leitenberger: The Falcon 9 . Retrieved May 23, 2012
- ↑ Completed Missions. SpaceX, 2013, archived from the original on May 9, 2020 ; accessed on March 4, 2013 .