SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

Context: In a rare event, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket recently suffered a failure in its upper stage engine that left 20 Starlink internet satellites in a low, non-survivable orbit. The rocket’s second stage experienced a liquid oxygen leak, and failed to complete a second, short engine burn needed to place the satellites in the correct/intended orbit. 

• Falcon 9 Rocket has been the workhorse of SpaceX, and till date has launched successfully 364 times, carrying astronauts, payloads for SpaceX's commercial clients and thousands of Starlink satellites to orbit.
• The last time a Falcon 9 experienced a serious incident was when the rocket blew up on the launchpad in September 2016.

About SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

• The SpaceX Falcon 9 is a partially reusable two-stage rocket that can propel both satellites and astronauts into a variety of orbits.
  • It can lift up to:
    • 22,800 kg to Low Earth Orbit (an altitude of 2000 km or less).
    • 8,300 kg to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
• Designed and manufactured by: SpaceX 

Key Features: 

• The rocket hastwo stages. 
  • The first stage or booster stage comprises nine Merlin engines (a family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX) which use RP-1 (rocket-grade kerosene) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants. 
  • The second stage consists of a single Merlin engine.
• Reusability: The first stage of the rocket is reusable. It is capable of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and landing vertically on Earth after separating from the second stage. This significantly reduces the cost of access to space.

Notable Missions of Falcon 9:

• Starlink: Falcon 9 is the workhorse for deploying SpaceX's Starlink satellites, aimed at providing global internet coverage.
• CRS Missions: Falcon 9 has been used extensively for NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
• Crew Dragon: It launched the first commercial spacecraft (Cew Dragon/ Dragon 2) capable of carrying astronauts to the ISS and LEO. The Polaris Dawn mission is the planned private human spaceflight mission scheduled to be launched in July 2024, using the Falcon 9 rocket.
  • Crew Dragon is a spacecraft developed and manufactured by SpaceX as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. 
  • It can carry up to seven astronauts. For NASA missions, it typically carries four astronauts and some cargo.