The Falcon 9 rocket was built as a reusable system, in line with SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s desire to lower the cost of flying into space. After launch the first stage rocket descends on the ground or on a drone ship near the launch pad.
The Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket, known in the first stage to have nine Merlin engines and an aluminum-lithium alloy tank containing liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellant.
While the second stage, only uses a single Merlin engine, a slightly shorter version of the tank of the first stage. It is connected to the Falcon 9’s first stage via an “interstage”, which is made of a carbon fiber aluminum core composite.
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Later versions of the Falcon 9 included grille fins that exited the first stage after separation, to guide the rocket to a soft landing. Feet emerge from the rocket moments before landing, either on a drone ship or a solid landing pad.
Since 2020, SpaceX has used the Falcon 9 for manned missions to the ISS, on behalf of NASA and other customers. The Falcon 9 has completed many missions successfully, including as the rocket booster of choice for SpaceX’s Starlink fleet, a broadband satellite suite to provide Internet service to remote areas.
Falcon 9 also sends cargo and people to the International Space Station. Falcon 9 flies the Dragon cargo spacecraft for regular deliveries of experiments, supplies, and hardware to the orbiting complex.
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