A Brief History of SpaceX
(for more detail, .check out this excellent article)
In 2001, PayPal board member Elon Musk wanted to put a greenhouse on Mars, to reinvigorate public excitement for space exploration. However, even the cheapest Russian launcher was too expensive, and Musk was deemed naive by the Russian engineers. After PayPal went public in February 2002 he decided to build his own rockets, founding Space Exploration Technologies in May of that year. That October, PayPal was sold to eBay. Musk put more than half his fortune from that sale into SpaceX.
Six years later, after three consecutive launch failures and with funds nearly exhausted, SpaceX became the first private operation to successfully orbit a liquid-fueled rocket (Orbital's Pegasus was the first private orbital vehicle, but that used far simpler solid rocket engines).
Since then, the company has grown to employ more than 6,000 people and has achieved some remarkable things. Their main rocket, the Falcon 9, can carry 34x as much payload as the Falcon 1, and the entire first stage can fly itself to a controlled landing either downrange on a barge or back to a landing pad on land. This is something no other launch operator has even attempted, let alone succeeded at. They've dramatically reduced the cost of spaceflight, and aim to reduce it much further.
Past Rockets & Spacecraft
Falcon 1 | 2006-2009
Powered by a single Merlin engine on the first stage and a single Kestrel engine on the second stage, Falcon 1 was the "minimum viable orbital rocket" that SpaceX cut their teeth on. It flew 5 times, the first three of which were failures. The 1st flight nose-dived into the ground after 30 seconds, while the 2nd and 3rd failed during stage separation. Flights 4 and 5 were successful, carrying commercial payloads into orbit.
Falcon 9 (v1.0 and v1.1) | 2010 - 2016
While the Falcon 1 was being refined, SpaceX were already designing their "proper" rocket. Originally planned for 5 and 9 engine versions, the 5 was dropped. In 2006, NASA awarded SpaceX a contract for resupplying the ISS, which helped pay for the development of the rocket and the Dragon capsule. The F9 v1.0 had the engines in a 3x3 grid and only made 5 flights. The v1.1 saw a 60% increase in engine thrust and propellant capacity, and the Merlin engines arranged in an octagon, with one in the centre. This version of the rocket was also used in SpaceX's first attempts at powered descent of the first stage. In 2015, a F9 v1.1 failed during launch when a helium bottle ruptured inside the liquid oxygen tank, destroying the whole vehicle.
Grasshopper and F9R | 2012-2014
Two modified Falcon 9 stages were used to practice the low-altitude part of the landing procedure. Flown from SpaceX's test site in Texas, they went no higher than 1000m. Grasshopper, a modified F9 v1.0 was retired and now lives at the company's factory. F9R, a modified F9 v1.1 was deliberately destroyed when it started to go off-course during a flight.
Space is Hard
Falcon 9 "Full Thrust" | 2015-2018
The next version of the F9 had an even more powerful engine design and super-cooled propellants to squeeze even more performance out of the vehicle. F9 FT flew 16 times in 2017, more than any other rocket worldwide. Three of those flights were with previously flown and landed first stages.
Current Fleet (last updated Jan 2018)
Falcon 9 "Block 5"
The "final" version of F9, designed for ease of reuse, with even more powerful Merlin engines; almost 3x more powerful than the first version that flew on F1. The aim is to get 10 flights from every booster without any maintenance, and a minimum turnaround time of 24h. PS: Pick a naming convention and stick to it, Elon.
Falcon Heavy
The most powerful rocket currently in service, and 5th most powerful ever flown (Saturn V, Shuttle, N1 and Energia still have it beat). Essentially three Falcon 9 boosters strapped together, the Falcon Heavy is in a class of its own. When first conceived, it would carry geostationary satellites too heavy for a single booster. However, engine upgrades have now put all such payloads inside Falcon 9's envelope. Falcon Heavy therefore has an uncertain future. It offers tremendous performance, but there are no current payloads that need it. It remains, however, SUPER SUPER COOL.
Dragon 1 | 15 Flights | 1 Failure
Developed as part of the commercial resupply program for the International Space Station, Dragon is a traditional capsule spacecraft, about the same size as the Apollo command module, with a disposable "trunk" containing the solar panels and non-pressurised storage. It lands under parachutes and splashes down in the ocean for recovery by boat.
Coming Soon - Dragon 2
The refined and upgraded capsule that will take NASA astronauts to the space station. First (unmanned) flight currently planned for January 2019. Designed to land on rocket power, but NASA don't want landing gear hatches in the heat shield, so it'll be parachute splashdown instead.
Future Plans
Starlink satellite internet
A fleet of 7,500 satellites in low earth orbit, providing high speed internet anywhere in earth, completely bypassing local wired connections. SpaceX aren't the only company contemplating such a thing, but they might be first to market. This could replace major backhaul cables and individual consumer connections. 100Mb internet in the middle of the jungle, the ocean, the desert, the suburbs, anywhere. The profits could be huge. Enough to fully fund the development of:
Super Heavy and Starliner
This is the booster and the spaceship that will take people to Mars. It will be by some distance the most powerful rocket ever built. Fully reusable and capable of taking 60 people to Mars. Here's Elon's presentation: (warning, Elon Musk is possibly the worst public speaker in the world)
They're already building the prototype Starliner and plan to start "hop" flights in 2019. The plan is to completely retire F9 once the it's flying. It will make all other rockets obsolete. At least, that's the plan...
(all image credits: SpaceX or NASA)
Updated 2018-12-03
(for more detail, .check out this excellent article)
In 2001, PayPal board member Elon Musk wanted to put a greenhouse on Mars, to reinvigorate public excitement for space exploration. However, even the cheapest Russian launcher was too expensive, and Musk was deemed naive by the Russian engineers. After PayPal went public in February 2002 he decided to build his own rockets, founding Space Exploration Technologies in May of that year. That October, PayPal was sold to eBay. Musk put more than half his fortune from that sale into SpaceX.
Six years later, after three consecutive launch failures and with funds nearly exhausted, SpaceX became the first private operation to successfully orbit a liquid-fueled rocket (Orbital's Pegasus was the first private orbital vehicle, but that used far simpler solid rocket engines).
Since then, the company has grown to employ more than 6,000 people and has achieved some remarkable things. Their main rocket, the Falcon 9, can carry 34x as much payload as the Falcon 1, and the entire first stage can fly itself to a controlled landing either downrange on a barge or back to a landing pad on land. This is something no other launch operator has even attempted, let alone succeeded at. They've dramatically reduced the cost of spaceflight, and aim to reduce it much further.
Past Rockets & Spacecraft
Falcon 1 | 2006-2009
Powered by a single Merlin engine on the first stage and a single Kestrel engine on the second stage, Falcon 1 was the "minimum viable orbital rocket" that SpaceX cut their teeth on. It flew 5 times, the first three of which were failures. The 1st flight nose-dived into the ground after 30 seconds, while the 2nd and 3rd failed during stage separation. Flights 4 and 5 were successful, carrying commercial payloads into orbit.
Falcon 9 (v1.0 and v1.1) | 2010 - 2016
While the Falcon 1 was being refined, SpaceX were already designing their "proper" rocket. Originally planned for 5 and 9 engine versions, the 5 was dropped. In 2006, NASA awarded SpaceX a contract for resupplying the ISS, which helped pay for the development of the rocket and the Dragon capsule. The F9 v1.0 had the engines in a 3x3 grid and only made 5 flights. The v1.1 saw a 60% increase in engine thrust and propellant capacity, and the Merlin engines arranged in an octagon, with one in the centre. This version of the rocket was also used in SpaceX's first attempts at powered descent of the first stage. In 2015, a F9 v1.1 failed during launch when a helium bottle ruptured inside the liquid oxygen tank, destroying the whole vehicle.
Grasshopper and F9R | 2012-2014
Two modified Falcon 9 stages were used to practice the low-altitude part of the landing procedure. Flown from SpaceX's test site in Texas, they went no higher than 1000m. Grasshopper, a modified F9 v1.0 was retired and now lives at the company's factory. F9R, a modified F9 v1.1 was deliberately destroyed when it started to go off-course during a flight.
Space is Hard
Falcon 9 "Full Thrust" | 2015-2018
The next version of the F9 had an even more powerful engine design and super-cooled propellants to squeeze even more performance out of the vehicle. F9 FT flew 16 times in 2017, more than any other rocket worldwide. Three of those flights were with previously flown and landed first stages.
Current Fleet (last updated Jan 2018)
Falcon 9 "Block 5"
The "final" version of F9, designed for ease of reuse, with even more powerful Merlin engines; almost 3x more powerful than the first version that flew on F1. The aim is to get 10 flights from every booster without any maintenance, and a minimum turnaround time of 24h. PS: Pick a naming convention and stick to it, Elon.
Falcon Heavy
The most powerful rocket currently in service, and 5th most powerful ever flown (Saturn V, Shuttle, N1 and Energia still have it beat). Essentially three Falcon 9 boosters strapped together, the Falcon Heavy is in a class of its own. When first conceived, it would carry geostationary satellites too heavy for a single booster. However, engine upgrades have now put all such payloads inside Falcon 9's envelope. Falcon Heavy therefore has an uncertain future. It offers tremendous performance, but there are no current payloads that need it. It remains, however, SUPER SUPER COOL.
Dragon 1 | 15 Flights | 1 Failure
Developed as part of the commercial resupply program for the International Space Station, Dragon is a traditional capsule spacecraft, about the same size as the Apollo command module, with a disposable "trunk" containing the solar panels and non-pressurised storage. It lands under parachutes and splashes down in the ocean for recovery by boat.
Coming Soon - Dragon 2
The refined and upgraded capsule that will take NASA astronauts to the space station. First (unmanned) flight currently planned for January 2019. Designed to land on rocket power, but NASA don't want landing gear hatches in the heat shield, so it'll be parachute splashdown instead.
Future Plans
Starlink satellite internet
A fleet of 7,500 satellites in low earth orbit, providing high speed internet anywhere in earth, completely bypassing local wired connections. SpaceX aren't the only company contemplating such a thing, but they might be first to market. This could replace major backhaul cables and individual consumer connections. 100Mb internet in the middle of the jungle, the ocean, the desert, the suburbs, anywhere. The profits could be huge. Enough to fully fund the development of:
Super Heavy and Starliner
This is the booster and the spaceship that will take people to Mars. It will be by some distance the most powerful rocket ever built. Fully reusable and capable of taking 60 people to Mars. Here's Elon's presentation: (warning, Elon Musk is possibly the worst public speaker in the world)
They're already building the prototype Starliner and plan to start "hop" flights in 2019. The plan is to completely retire F9 once the it's flying. It will make all other rockets obsolete. At least, that's the plan...
(all image credits: SpaceX or NASA)
Updated 2018-12-03
Last edited:
