SpaceX Merlin

Last updated
Merlin 1D
SpaceX Testing Merlin 1D Engine In Texas.jpg
Test firing of the Merlin 1D at SpaceX’s McGregor test stand
Country of origin United States
Manufacturer SpaceX
Application
Associated LV Falcon 1  · Falcon 9  · Falcon Heavy
StatusActive
Liquid-fuel engine
Propellant LOX / RP-1
Cycle Gas-generator
Performance
Thrust, vacuum981 kN (221,000 lbf) [1]
Thrust, sea-level845 kN (190,000 lbf) [1]
Thrust-to-weight ratio 184
Chamber pressure 9.7  MPa (1,410 psi) [2]
Specific impulse, vacuum311 s (3.05 km/s) [3] [ needs update ]
Specific impulse, sea-level282 s (2.77 km/s) [3] [ needs update ]
Dimensions
DiameterSea level: 0.92 m (3.0 ft)
Vacuum: 3.3 m (11 ft)
Dry mass470 kg (1,030 lb) [4]

Merlin is a family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX. They are currently a part of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, and were formerly used on the Falcon 1. Merlin engines use RP-1 and liquid oxygen as rocket propellants in a gas-generator power cycle. The Merlin engine was originally designed for sea recovery and reuse, but since 2016 the entire Falcon 9 booster is recovered for reuse by landing vertically on a landing pad using one of its nine Merlin engines.

Contents

The injector at the heart of Merlin is of the pintle type that was first used in the Apollo Lunar Module landing engine (LMDE). Propellants are fed by a single-shaft, dual-impeller turbopump. The turbopump also provides high-pressure fluid for the hydraulic actuators, which then recycles into the low-pressure inlet. This eliminates the need for a separate hydraulic drive system and means that thrust vectoring control failure by running out of hydraulic fluid is not possible.

Revisions

SpaceX Merlin 1A SpaceX Merlin engine.gif
SpaceX Merlin 1A

Merlin 1A

The initial version, the Merlin 1A, used an inexpensive, expendable, ablatively cooled carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composite nozzle and produced 340 kN (76,000 lbf) of thrust. The Merlin 1A flew only twice: first on March 24, 2006, when it caught fire and failed due to a fuel leak shortly after launch, [5] [6] and the second time on March 21, 2007, when it performed successfully. [7] Both times the Merlin 1A was mounted on a Falcon 1 first stage. [8] [9]

The SpaceX turbopump was an entirely new, clean-sheet design contracted to Barber-Nichols, Inc. in 2002, who performed all design, engineering analysis, and construction; the company had previously worked on turbopumps for the RS-88 (Bantam) and NASA Fastrac engine programs. The Merlin 1A turbopump used a unique friction-welded main shaft, with Inconel  718 ends and an integral aluminum RP-1 impeller in the middle. The turbopump housing was constructed using investment castings, with Inconel at the turbine end, aluminum in the center, and 300-series stainless steel at the LOX end. The turbine was a partial-admission (i.e., working fluid is only admitted through part of the rotation of the turbine; an arc, not the whole circumference) impulse design and turned at up to 20,000 rpm, with a total weight of 68 kg (150 lb).[ citation needed ]

Merlin 1B

The Merlin 1B rocket engine was an upgraded version of the Merlin 1A engine. The turbopump upgrades were handled by Barber-Nichols, Inc. for SpaceX. [10] It was intended for Falcon 1 launch vehicles, capable of producing 380 kN (85,000 lbf) of thrust at sea level and 420 kN (95,000 lbf) in vacuum, and performing with a specific impulse of 261 s (2.56 km/s) at sea level and 303 s (2.97 km/s) in vacuum.

The Merlin 1B was enhanced over the 1A with a turbine upgrade, increasing power output from 1,500 kW (2,000 hp) to 1,900 kW (2,500 hp). [11] The turbine upgrade was accomplished by adding additional nozzles, turning the previously partial-admission design to full admission. Slightly enlarged impellers for both RP-1 and LOX were part of the upgrade. This model turned at a faster 22,000 rpm and developed higher discharge pressures. Turbopump weight was unchanged at 68 kg (150 lb). [10] Another notable change over the 1A was the move to TEA–TEB (pyrophoric) ignition over torch ignition. [11]

Initial use of the Merlin 1B was to be on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, on whose first stage there would have been a cluster of nine of these engines. Due to experience from the Falcon 1's first flight, SpaceX moved its Merlin development to the Merlin 1C, which is regeneratively cooled. Therefore, the Merlin 1B was never used on a launch vehicle. [8] [9]

Merlin 1C

Merlin 1C
Country of origin United States
Manufacturer SpaceX
Application
Associated LV Falcon 1, Falcon 9
StatusRetired
Liquid-fuel engine
Propellant LOX / RP-1
Cycle Gas-generator
Performance
Thrust, vacuum 480 kN (110,000 lbf) [12]
Thrust, sea-level420 kN (94,000 lbf) [12]
Thrust-to-weight ratio 96
Chamber pressure 6.77 MPa (982 psi) [13]
Specific impulse, vacuum304.8 s (2.989 km/s) [13]
Specific impulse, sea-level275 s (2.70 km/s)
Dimensions
Length2.92 m (9 ft 7 in) [14]
Dry mass630 kg (1,380 lb)
Merlin 1C under construction at SpaceX SpaceX factory Merlin engine.jpg
Merlin 1C under construction at SpaceX

Three versions of the Merlin 1C engine were produced. The Merlin engine for Falcon 1 had a movable turbopump exhaust assembly, which was used to provide roll control by vectoring the exhaust. The Merlin 1C engine for the Falcon 9 first stage is nearly identical to the variant used for the Falcon 1, although the turbopump exhaust assembly is not movable. Finally, a Merlin 1C vacuum variant is used on the Falcon 9 second stage. This engine differs from the Falcon 9 first-stage variant in that it uses a larger exhaust nozzle optimized for vacuum operation and can be throttled between 60% and 100%. [13]

The Merlin 1C uses a regeneratively cooled nozzle and combustion chamber. The turbopump used is a Merlin 1B model with only slight alterations. It was fired with a full mission duty firing of 170 seconds in November 2007, [12] first flew on a mission in August 2008, [15] powered the "first privately-developed liquid-fueled rocket to successfully reach orbit", Falcon 1 Flight 4, in September 2008, [15] and powered the Falcon 9 on its maiden flight in June 2010. [16]

As configured for use on Falcon 1 vehicles, the Merlin 1C had a sea-level thrust of 350 kN (78,000 lbf), a vacuum thrust of 400 kN (90,000 lbf) and a vacuum specific impulse of 304 s (2.98 km/s). In this configuration, the engine consumed 140 kg (300 lb) of propellant per second. Tests have been conducted with a single Merlin 1C engine successfully running a total of 27 minutes (counting together the duration of the various tests), which equals ten complete Falcon 1 flights. [17] The Merlin 1C chamber and nozzle are cooled regeneratively by 45 kg (100 lb) per second of kerosene flow and are able to absorb 10 MW (13,000 hp) of heat energy. [18]

A Merlin 1C was first used as part of the unsuccessful third attempt to launch a Falcon 1. In discussing the failure, Elon Musk noted: "The flight of our first stage, with the new Merlin 1C engine that will be used in Falcon 9, was picture perfect." [19] The Merlin 1C was used in the successful fourth flight of Falcon 1 on September 28, 2008. [20]

On October 7, 2012, a Merlin 1C (Engine No. 1) of the CRS-1 mission experienced an anomaly at T+00:01:20, which appears on CRS-1 launch video as a flash. The failure occurred just as the vehicle achieved max-Q (maximum aerodynamic pressure). SpaceX's internal review found that the engine was shut down after a sudden pressure loss and that only the aerodynamic shell was destroyed, generating the debris seen in the video; the engine did not explode, as SpaceX ground control continued to receive data from it throughout the flight. The primary mission was unaffected by the anomaly due to the nominal operation of the remaining eight engines and an onboard readjustment of the flight trajectory, [21] but the secondary-mission payload failed to reach its target orbit due to safety protocols in place to prevent collisions with the ISS. These protocols prevented a second firing of the upper stage for the secondary payload. [22]

SpaceX was planning to develop a 560 kN (130,000 lbf) version of Merlin 1C to be used in Falcon 9 Block II and Falcon 1E boosters. [23] This engine and these booster models were dropped in favor of the more advanced Merlin 1D engine and longer Falcon 9 v1.1 booster.

Merlin 1C Vacuum engine at Hawthorne factory in 2008 Merlin 1C Vacuum engine at Hawthorne factory (2008).jpg
Merlin 1C Vacuum engine at Hawthorne factory in 2008

Merlin Vacuum (1C)

On March 10, 2009, a SpaceX press release announced successful testing of the Merlin Vacuum engine. A variant of the 1C engine, Merlin Vacuum features a larger exhaust section and a significantly larger expansion nozzle to maximize the engine's efficiency in the vacuum of space. Its combustion chamber is regeneratively cooled, while the 2.7-meter-long (9 ft) [24] niobium alloy [13] expansion nozzle is radiatively cooled. The engine delivers a vacuum thrust of 411 kN (92,500 lbf) and a vacuum specific impulse of 342 s (3.35 km/s). [25] The first production Merlin Vacuum engine underwent a full-duration orbital-insertion firing (329 seconds) of the integrated Falcon 9 second stage on January 2, 2010. [26] It was flown on the second stage for the inaugural Falcon 9 flight on June 4, 2010. At full power and as of March 10, 2009, the Merlin Vacuum engine operates with the greatest efficiency of any American-made hydrocarbon-fueled rocket engine. [27]

An unplanned test of a modified Merlin Vacuum engine was made in December 2010. Shortly before the scheduled second flight of the Falcon 9, two cracks were discovered in the 2.7-meter-long (9 ft) niobium-alloy-sheet nozzle of the Merlin Vacuum engine. The engineering solution was to cut off the lower 1.2 m (4 ft) of the nozzle and launch two days later, as the extra performance that would have been gained from the longer nozzle was not necessary to meet the objectives of the mission. The modified engine successfully placed the second stage into an orbit of 11,000 km (6,800 mi) altitude. [24]

Merlin 1D

The Merlin 1D engine was developed by SpaceX between 2011 and 2012, with first flight in 2013. The design goals for the new engine included increased reliability, improved performance, and improved manufacturability. [28] In 2011, performance goals for the engine were a vacuum thrust of 690 kN (155,000 lbf), a vacuum specific impulse (Isp) of 310 s (3.0 km/s), an expansion ratio of 16 (as opposed to the previous 14.5 of the Merlin 1C) and chamber pressure in the "sweet spot" of 9.7 MPa (1,410 psi). Merlin 1D was originally designed to throttle between 100% and 70% of maximal thrust; however, further refinements since 2013 now allow the engine to throttle to 40%. [29]

The basic Merlin fuel/oxidizer mixture ratio is controlled by the sizing of the propellant supply tubes to each engine, with only a small amount of the total flow trimmed out by a "servo-motor-controlled butterfly valve" to provide fine control of the mixture ratio. [30]

On November 24, 2013, Elon Musk stated that the engine was actually operating at 85% of its potential, and they anticipated to be able to increase the sea-level thrust to about 730 kN (165,000 lbf) and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 180. [31] This version of the Merlin 1D was used on Falcon 9 Full Thrust and first flew on Flight 20.

In May 2016, SpaceX announced plans to further upgrade the Merlin 1D by increasing vacuum thrust to 914 kN (205,000 lbf) and sea-level thrust to 845 kN (190,000 lbf); according to SpaceX, the additional thrust will increase the Falcon 9 LEO payload capability to about 22 metric tons on a fully expendable mission. SpaceX also noted that unlike the previous Full Thrust iteration of the Falcon 9 vehicle, the increase in performance is solely due to upgraded engines, and no other significant changes to the vehicle are publicly planned.

In May 2018, ahead of the first flight of Falcon 9 Block 5, SpaceX announced that the 845 kN (190,000 lbf) goal had been achieved. [32] The Merlin 1D is now close to the sea-level thrust of the retired Rocketdyne H-1 / RS-27 engines used on Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Delta II.

On 23 February 2024, one of the nine Merlin engines powering that launch flew its 22nd mission, which was at the time the flight leading engine. It is already the most flown rocket engine to date, surpassing Space Shuttle Main Engine no. 2019's record of 19 flights. [33]

Anomalies

The March 18, 2020, launch of Starlink satellites on board a Falcon 9 experienced an early engine shutdown on ascent. The shutdown occurred 2 minutes 22 seconds into the flight and was accompanied with an "event" seen on camera. The rest of the Falcon 9 engines burned longer and did deliver the payload to orbit. However, the first stage was not successfully recovered. In a subsequent investigation SpaceX found that isopropyl alcohol, used as cleaning fluid, was trapped and ignited, causing the engine to be shut down. To address the issue, in a following launch SpaceX indicated that the cleaning process was not done. [34] [35] [36]

On October 2, 2020, the launch of a GPS-III satellite was aborted at T-2 seconds due to a detected early startup on 2 of the 9 engines on the first stage. The engines were removed for further testing and it was found that a port in the gas generator was blocked. After removing the blockage the engines started as intended. After this, SpaceX inspected other engines across its fleet and found that two of the engines on the Falcon 9 rocket intended for the Crew-1 launch also had this problem. Those engines were replaced with new M1D engines. [37]

On February 16, 2021, on Falcon 9 flight 108 launching Starlink satellites, an engine shut down early due to hot exhaust gasses passing through a damaged heat-shielding cover. The mission was a success, but the booster could not be recovered. [38]

Merlin 1D Vacuum

A vacuum version of the Merlin 1D engine was developed for the Falcon 9 v1.1 and the Falcon Heavy second stage. [2] As of 2020, the thrust of the Merlin 1D Vacuum is 220,500 lbf (981 kN) [39] with a specific impulse of 348 seconds, [40] the highest specific impulse ever for a U.S. hydrocarbon rocket engine. [41] The increase is due to the greater expansion ratio afforded by operating in vacuum, now 165:1 using an updated nozzle extension. [40] [42]

The engine can throttle down to 39% of its maximum thrust, or 360 kN (81,000 lbf). [42]

Merlin 1D Vacuum improvements and variants

Transporter-7 mission launch debuted a new Merlin Vacuum engine (MVac for short) nozzle extension design or variant aimed at increasing cadence and reducing costs. This new nozzle extension is shorter and, as a result, decreases both performance and material usage. This nozzle is only used on lower-performance missions, as with this nozzle, the MVac engine produces 10% less thrust in space. The nozzle decreases the amount of material needed by 75%; this means that SpaceX can launch over three times as many missions with the same amount of rare niobium metal as with the longer design. [43] [44]

Anomalies

On July 11, 2024, Falcon 9 flight 354 launching Starlink group 9-3 from Vandenberg AFB in California experienced an anomaly with its MVac during an engine relight attempt to raise the perigee of the 22 Starlink satellites for deployment. On X, Elon Musk and SpaceX both confirmed the engine failed explosively during a second attempted relight, albeit in a manner that did not appear to damage the second stage of the vehicle as the stage went on to deploy the satellites on board. [45]

Design

Engine control

SpaceX uses a triple-redundant design in the Merlin engine computers. The system uses three computers in each processing unit, each constantly checking on the others, to instantiate a fault-tolerant design. One processing unit is part of each of the ten Merlin engines (nine on the first stage, one on the second stage) used on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. [46]

Turbopump

The Merlin LOX/RP-1 turbopump used on Merlin engines 1A–1C was designed and developed by Barber-Nichols. [47] It spins at 36,000  revolutions per minute, delivering 10,000 horsepower (7,500 kW). [48]

Gas generator

The LOX/RP-1 turbopump on each Merlin engine is powered by a fuel-rich open-cycle gas generator similar to that used in the Apollo-era Rocketdyne F-1 engine. [49]

Production

As of August 2011, SpaceX was producing Merlin engines at the rate of eight per month, planning eventually to raise production to about 33 engines per month (or 400 per year). [2] By September 2013, SpaceX total manufacturing space had increased to nearly 93,000 square meters (1 million square feet), and the factory had been configured to achieve a maximum production rate of up to 40 rocket cores per year, enough to use the 400 annual engines envisioned by the earlier engine plan. [50] By October 2014, SpaceX announced that it had manufactured the 100th Merlin 1D engine and that engines were now being produced at a rate of four per week, soon to be increased to five. [51] [52]

In February 2016, SpaceX indicated that the company will need to build hundreds of engines a year in order to support a Falcon 9/Falcon Heavy build rate of 30 rocket cores per year by the end of 2016. [53] [ needs update ]

Each Falcon 9 booster uses nine Merlin engines, and the second stage uses one Merlin vacuum engine. The second stage is expended, so each launch consumes one Merlin Vacuum engine. SpaceX designed the booster with its engines to be recovered for reuse by propulsive landing, and the first recovered booster was reused in March 2017. By 2020, only five of the 26 Falcon 9 launched that year used new boosters. By 2021, only two of the 31 Falcon 9 launches used new boosters.

Past engine concepts

Merlin 2 concept

At the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Joint Propulsion conference on July 30, 2010, SpaceX McGregor rocket development facility director Tom Markusic shared some information from the initial stages of planning for a new engine. SpaceX’s Merlin 2 LOX/RP-1-fueled engine on a gas-generator cycle, capable of a projected 7,600 kN (1,700,000 lbf) of thrust at sea level and 8,500 kN (1,920,000 lbf) in a vacuum and would provide the power for conceptual super-heavy-lift launch vehicles from SpaceX, which Markusic dubbed Falcon X and Falcon XX. Such a capability, if built, would have resulted in an engine with more thrust than the F-1 engines used on the Saturn V. [54]

Conceived to be potentially used on more capable variants of the Falcon 9 Heavy, Markusic indicated that the Merlin 2 "could be qualified in three years for $1 billion". [55] By mid-August, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk clarified that while the Merlin 2 engine architecture was a key element of any effort SpaceX would make toward their objective of "super-heavy lift" launch vehicles—and that SpaceX did indeed want to "move toward super heavy lift"—the specific potential design configurations of the particular launch vehicles shown by Markusic at the propulsion conference were merely conceptual "brainstorming ideas", just a "bunch of ideas for discussion." [56]

Since the original discussion, no work on any "Merlin 2" kerolox engine has been pursued and made public. At the 2011 Joint Propulsion Conference, Elon Musk stated that SpaceX were instead working towards a potential staged cycle engine. [57] In October 2012, SpaceX publicly announced concept work on a rocket engine that would be "several times as powerful as the Merlin 1 series of engines, and won't use Merlin's RP-1 fuel". [58] They indicated that the large engine was intended for a new SpaceX rocket, using multiple of these large engines could notionally launch payload masses of the order of 150 to 200 tonnes (170 to 220 short tons ) to low-Earth orbit. The forthcoming engine currently under development by SpaceX has been named "Raptor". Raptor will use liquid methane as a fuel, and was stated as having a sea-level thrust of 6,700 kilonewtons (1,500,000 lbf). [59] Since the initial announcement of Raptor, Musk has updated the specification to approximately 230 tonnes-force (2,300 kN; 510,000 lbf)—about one-third the original published figure—based on the results of optimizing for thrust-to-weight ratio. [60]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocketdyne J-2</span> Rocket engine

The J-2, commonly known as Rocketdyne J-2, was a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine used on NASA's Saturn IB and Saturn V launch vehicles. Built in the United States by Rocketdyne, the J-2 burned cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, with each engine producing 1,033.1 kN (232,250 lbf) of thrust in vacuum. The engine's preliminary design dates back to recommendations of the 1959 Silverstein Committee. Rocketdyne won approval to develop the J-2 in June 1960 and the first flight, AS-201, occurred on 26 February 1966. The J-2 underwent several minor upgrades over its operational history to improve the engine's performance, with two major upgrade programs, the de Laval nozzle-type J-2S and aerospike-type J-2T, which were cancelled after the conclusion of the Apollo program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Kestrel</span> Family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX for use on its Falcon 1 launch vehicles

The SpaceX Kestrel was an LOX/RP-1 pressure-fed rocket engine. The Kestrel engine was developed in the 2000s by SpaceX for upper stage use on the Falcon 1 rocket. Kestrel is no longer being manufactured; the last flight of Falcon 1 was in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 1</span> Expendable launch system by SpaceX

Falcon 1 was a two-stage small-lift launch vehicle that was operated from 2006 to 2009 by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. On 28 September 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to successfully reach orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staged combustion cycle</span> Rocket engine operation method

The staged combustion cycle is a power cycle of a bipropellant rocket engine. In the staged combustion cycle, propellant flows through multiple combustion chambers, and is thus combusted in stages. The main advantage relative to other rocket engine power cycles is high fuel efficiency, measured through specific impulse, while its main disadvantage is engineering complexity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas-generator cycle</span> Rocket engine operation method

The gas-generator cycle, also called open cycle, is one of the most commonly used power cycles in bipropellant liquid rocket engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 9</span> Orbital launch vehicle by SpaceX

Falcon 9 is a partially reusable, human-rated, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June 2010, and the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on 8 October 2012. In 2020, it became the first commercial rocket to launch humans to orbit. The Falcon 9 has an exceptional safety record, with 380 successful launches, two in-flight failures, one partial failure and one pre-flight destruction. It is the most-launched American rocket in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SES-8</span> Geostationary Communications satellite

SES-8 is a geostationary Communications satellite operated by SES SES-8 was successfully launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 on 3 December 2013, 22:41:00 UTC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LE-7</span> Japanese hydrolox staged combustion rocket engine

The LE-7 and its succeeding upgrade model the LE-7A are staged combustion cycle LH2/LOX liquid rocket engines produced in Japan for the H-II series of launch vehicles. Design and production work was all done domestically in Japan, the first major (main/first-stage) liquid rocket engine with that claim, in a collaborative effort from the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), Aerospace Engineering Laboratory (NAL), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Ishikawajima-Harima. NASDA and NAL have since been integrated into JAXA. However, a large part of the work was contracted to Mitsubishi, with Ishikawajima-Harima providing turbomachinery, and the engine is often referred to as the Mitsubishi LE-7(A).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fastrac (rocket engine)</span> Pump-fed liquid rocket engine developed by NASA for use on small inexpensive, expendable rockets

Fastrac was a turbo pump-fed, liquid rocket engine. The engine was designed by NASA as part of the low cost X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) and as part of the Low Cost Booster Technology project. This engine was later known as the MC-1 engine when it was merged into the X-34 project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TR-106</span> US experimental low-cost hydrolox pintle injector rocket engine

The TR-106 or low-cost pintle engine (LCPE) was a developmental rocket engine designed by TRW under the Space Launch Initiative to reduce the cost of launch services and space flight. Operating on LOX/LH2 the engine had a thrust of 2892 kN, or 650,000 pounds, making it one of the most powerful engines ever constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX launch vehicles</span> Launch vehicles developed and operated by SpaceX

SpaceX manufactures launch vehicles to operate its launch provider services and to execute its various exploration goals. SpaceX currently manufactures and operates the Falcon 9 Block 5 family of medium-lift launch vehicles and the Falcon Heavy family of heavy-lift launch vehicles – both of which are powered by SpaceX Merlin engines and employ VTVL technologies to reuse the first stage. As of 2024, the company is also developing the fully reusable Starship launch system, which will replace the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX rocket engines</span> Rocket engines developed by SpaceX

Since the founding of SpaceX in 2002, the company has developed four families of rocket engines — Merlin, Kestrel, Draco and SuperDraco — and since 2016 developed the Raptor methane rocket engine and after 2020, a line of methalox thrusters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BE-3</span> Liquid hydrogen/oxygen rocket engine

The BE-3 is a liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen rocket engine developed by Blue Origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 9 v1.1</span> Second version of the SpaceX medium-lift launch vehicle

Falcon 9 v1.1 was the second version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle. The rocket was developed in 2011–2013, made its maiden launch in September 2013, and its final flight in January 2016. The Falcon 9 rocket was fully designed, manufactured, and operated by SpaceX. Following the second Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) launch, the initial version Falcon 9 v1.0 was retired from use and replaced by the v1.1 version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 9 v1.0</span> First version of the SpaceX medium-lift launch vehicle

The Falcon 9 v1.0 was the first member of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle family, designed and manufactured by SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. Development of the medium-lift launcher began in 2005, and it first flew on June 4, 2010. The Falcon 9 v1.0 then launched four Dragon cargo spacecraft: one on an orbital test flight, then one demonstration and two operational resupply missions to the International Space Station under a Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 9 flight 20</span> Falcon 9 space launch that occurred on 22 December 2015 at 01:29:00 UTC

Falcon 9 flight 20 was a Falcon 9 space launch that occurred on 22 December 2015 at 01:29:00 UTC. It was the first time that the first stage of an orbital rocket made a successful return and vertical landing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 9 Full Thrust</span> Third version of the SpaceX medium-lift launch vehicle

Falcon 9 Full Thrust is a partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. It is the third major version of the Falcon 9 family, designed starting in 2014, with its first launch operations in December 2015. It was later refined into the Block 4 and Block 5. As of 15 October 2024, all variants of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust had performed 363 launches without only one failure of Starlink Group 9-3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 9 Block 5</span> Fifth version of the SpaceX medium-lift launch vehicle

Falcon 9 Block 5 is a partially reusable, human-rated, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. It is the fifth major version of the Falcon 9 family and the third version of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust. It is powered by Merlin 1D engines burning rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Raptor</span> SpaceX family of liquid-fuel rocket engines

Raptor is a family of rocket engines developed and manufactured by SpaceX. It is the third rocket engine in history designed with a full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) fuel cycle, and the first such engine to power a vehicle in flight. The engine is powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen, a mixture known as methalox.

Before settling on the 2018 Starship design, SpaceX successively presented a number of reusable super-heavy lift vehicle proposals. These preliminary spacecraft designs were known under various names.

References

  1. 1 2 "Falcon User's Guide" (PDF). SpaceX. April 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "SpaceX Unveils Plans To Be World's Top Rocket Maker". AviationWeek. August 11, 2011. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Merlin section of Falcon 9 page". SpaceX. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ↑ Mueller, Thomas (June 8, 2015). "Is SpaceX's Merlin 1D's thrust-to-weight ratio of 150+ believable?" . Retrieved July 9, 2015. The Merlin 1D weighs 1030 pounds, including the hydraulic steering (TVC) actuators. It makes 162,500 pounds of thrust in vacuum. that is nearly 158 thrust/weight. The new full thrust variant weighs the same and makes about 185,500 lbs force in vacuum.
  5. ↑ Berger, Brian (July 19, 2006). "Falcon 1 Failure Traced to a Busted Nut". Space.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Findings of the Falcon return to flight board". SpaceX.com. July 25, 2006. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Demo Flight 2 Flight Review Update" (PDF). SpaceX. June 15, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Whitesides, Loretta Hidalgo (November 12, 2007). "SpaceX Completes Development of Rocket Engine for Falcon 1 and 9". Wired Science. Archived from the original on March 23, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
  9. 1 2 Gaskill, Braddock (August 5, 2006). "SpaceX has magical goals for Falcon 9". Nasa Spaceflight. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
  10. 1 2 "Merlin LOX/RP-1 Turbopump". Barber Nichols. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  11. 1 2 Elon Musk. "Feb 2005 through May 2005 Update". SpaceX. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008.
  12. 1 2 3 "SpaceX Completes Development of Merlin Regeneratively Cooled Rocket Engine". Business Wire. November 13, 2007. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2007.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Dinardi, Aaron; Capozzoli, Peter; Shotwell, Gwynne (2008). Low-cost Launch Opportunities Provided by the Falcon Family of Launch Vehicles (PDF). Fourth Asian Space Conference. Taipei. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2012.
  14. ↑ "The SpaceX Falcon 1 Launch Vehicle Flight 3 Results, Future Developments, and Falcon 9 Evolution" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  15. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (September 28, 2008). "Sweet Success at Last for Falcon 1 Rocket". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2011. the first privately-developed liquid-fueled rocket to successfully reach orbit
  16. ↑ Boyle, Alan (June 4, 2010). "Shuttle successor succeeds in first test flight". NBC News . Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  17. ↑ "SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of Merlin Regeneratively Cooled Engine" (Press release). SpaceX. February 25, 2008. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Updates: December 2007". Updates Archive. SpaceX. December 2007. Archived from the original on April 5, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2012. (2007:) Merlin has a thrust at sea level of 95,000 lbs, a vacuum thrust of over 108,000 pounds, vacuum specific impulse of 304 seconds and sea level thrust to weight ratio of 92. In generating this thrust, Merlin consumes 350 lbs/second of propellant and the chamber and nozzle, cooled by 100 lbs/sec of kerosene, are capable of absorbing 10 MW of heat energy. A planned turbo pump upgrade in 2009 will improve the thrust by over 20% and the thrust to weight ratio by approximately 25%.
  19. ↑ Bergin, Chris; Davis, Matt (August 2, 2008). "SpaceX Falcon I fails during first stage flight". NASAspaceflight. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  20. ↑ Clark, Stephen (September 28, 2008). "Sweet success at last for Falcon 1 rocket". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
  21. ↑ Nelson, Katherine (October 8, 2012). "SpaceX CRS-1 Mission Update". SpaceX. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  22. ↑ Clark, Stephen (October 11, 2012). "Orbcomm craft falls to Earth, company claims total loss". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Falcon 1 Users Guide (Rev 7)" (PDF). SpaceX. August 26, 2008. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2012.
  24. 1 2 Klotz, Irene (December 13, 2010). "SpaceX Sees ISS Meet-up in 2011". Aviation Week. Retrieved February 8, 2011. The second stage went up to 11,000 km.—and that's with the shortie skirt[ permanent dead link ]
  25. ↑ "SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage engine successfully completes full mission duration firing" (Press release). SpaceX. March 10, 2009. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  26. ↑ Full Duration Orbit Insertion Firing. SpaceX. January 2, 2010. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  27. ↑ "SpaceX Falcon 9 Upper Stage Engine Successfully Completes Full Mission Duration Firing". SpaceX. March 10, 2009. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  28. ↑ "SpaceX to begin testing on Reusable Falcon 9 technology this year". NASASpaceFlight.com. January 11, 2012. Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  29. ↑ Mage, Buff (May 6, 2016). "@lukealization Max is just 3X Merlin thrust and min is ~40% of 1 Merlin. Two outer engines shut off before the center does". @elonmusk. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Servo Motors Survive Space X Launch Conditions". MICROMO/Faulhabler. 2015. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2015. the fuel-trim valve adjusts the mixture in real time. The fuel-trim device consists of a servo-motor-controlled butterfly valve. To achieve the proper speed and torque, the design incorporates a planetary gearbox for a roughly 151:1 reduction ratio, gearing internal to the unit. The shaft of the motor interfaces with the valve directly to make fine adjustments. 'The basic mixture ratio is given by the sizing of the tubes, and a small amount of the flow of each one gets trimmed out', explains Frefel. 'We only adjust a fraction of the whole fuel flow.'
  31. ↑ Elon, Musk (November 24, 2013). "SES-8 Prelaunch Teleconference". Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013. Also at SoundCloud Archived December 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine .
  32. ↑ Berger, Eric [@SciGuySpace] (May 10, 2018). "Musk: Merlin rocket engine thrust increased by 8 percent, to 190,000 lbf" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ↑ @SpaceX (February 23, 2024). "Main engine cutoff and stage separation. One of the nine Merlin engines powering tonight's first stage is our flight leader, powering its 22nd mission to Earth orbit" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  34. ↑ Clark, Stephen. "Falcon 9 rocket overcomes engine failure to deploy Starlink satellites". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  35. ↑ Clark, Stephen. "SpaceX's Starlink network surpasses 400-satellite mark after successful launch". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Safety panel concludes May launch of commercial crew test flight is feasible". SpaceNews. April 23, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  37. ↑ Berger, Eric (October 28, 2020). "How a tiny bit of lacquer grounded new Falcon 9 rockets for a month". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  38. ↑ Cao, Sissi (February 16, 2021). "SpaceX Fails Falcon 9 Rocket Landing in Rare Miss During Latest Starlink Mission". Observer. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  39. ↑ "SpaceX". SpaceX. Archived from the original on March 7, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  40. 1 2 "Falcon 9". SpaceX. 2017. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018.
  41. ↑ "SpaceX Falcon 9 Data Sheet". Space Launch Report. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  42. 1 2 "Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle Payload User's Guide" (PDF). Revision 2. SpaceX. October 21, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Transporter 7" . Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  44. ↑ Sesnic, Trevor (July 22, 2023). "EchoStar 24 | Falcon Heavy". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  45. ↑ Musk, Elon (June 11, 2024). "SpaceX X Post regarding Starlink 9-3 anomoly". X.com. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  46. ↑ Svitak, Amy (November 18, 2012). "Dragon's "Radiation-Tolerant" Design". Aviation Week. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013. We've got computers in the Falcon 9, we've got three computers in one unit on each engine in the Falcon 9, so that's 30 computers right there.
  47. ↑ "Merlin LOX/RP-1 Turbopump". website "Products" page: Rocket Engine Turbopumps. Barber-Nichols. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  48. ↑ Musk, Elon (October 13, 2018). "Full Q&A: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Recode Decode" (offset 01:02:08) (Interview). Interviewed by Kara Swisher. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018. the turbopump on the Merlin engine runs at 36,000 rpm, it's 10,000 hp
  49. ↑ Sutton, “History of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines”, AIAA [2006].
  50. ↑ "Production at SpaceX". SpaceX. September 24, 2013. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  51. ↑ "SpaceX Completes 100th Merlin 1D Engine". SpaceX. October 22, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  52. ↑ "SpaceX Prepared Testimony by Jeffrey Thornburg". SpaceRef.com. June 26, 2015. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2015. the Merlin engine has now successfully flown to space more than 180 times (with 130 on the Merlin 1D), reliably delivering multiple payloads for U.S, Government and commercial customers to complex orbits. Due to the engine's highly manufacturable design, SpaceX is now producing 4 Merlin 1D engines per week, with current production capacity to produce 5 engines per week, far more than any other private rocket engine producer in the world.
  53. ↑ Foust, Jeff (February 4, 2016). "SpaceX seeks to accelerate Falcon 9 production and launch rates this year". SpaceNews . Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  54. ↑ "SpaceX Merlin 2 engine, heavy lift designs". Hobbyspace.com. July 30, 2010. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011.
  55. ↑ Norris, Guy (August 5, 2010). "SpaceX Unveils Heavy-Lift Vehicle Plan". Aviation Week & Space Technology . Archived from the original on August 21, 2010.
  56. ↑ "Exploration Musk Clarifies SpaceX Position On Exploration". Aviation Week & Space Technology . August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.(subscription required)
  57. ↑ "Webcasts of Elon Musk & Gwynne Shotwell at AIAA mtg". Hobbyspace.com. August 1, 2011. Archived from the original on November 2, 2011.
  58. ↑ Rosenberg, Zach (October 15, 2012). "SpaceX aims big with massive new rocket". Flightglobal . Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  59. ↑ Nellis, Stephen (February 19, 2014). "SpaceX propulsion chief elevates crowd in Santa Barbara". Pacific Business Times. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  60. ↑ Musk, Elon (January 6, 2015). "I am Elon Musk, CEO/CTO of a rocket company, AMA!". Reddit.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016. Thrust to weight is optimizing for a surprisingly low thrust level, even when accounting for the added mass of plumbing and structure for many engines. Looks like a little over 230 metric tons (~500 klbf) of thrust per engine, but we will have a lot of them :)

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.