We’ve all got our 2020 stories to tell but for America in space 2020 has been glorious.
Watch SpaceX launch a classified military satellite on a REUSABLE Falcon 9 rocket, possibly in minutes. WATCH NOW
UPDATE: Currently aiming for a 9 AM launch, Saturday 12/19/20.
From SpaceX:
Falcon 9
Overview
HEIGHT | 70 m / 229.6 ft |
DIAMETER | 3.7 m / 12 ft |
MASS | 549,054 kg / 1,207,920 lb |
PAYLOAD TO LEO | 22,800 kg / 50,265 lb |
PAYLOAD TO GTO | 8,300 kg / 18,300 lb |
PAYLOAD TO MARS | 4,020 kg / 8,860 lb |
Falcon 9
First stage
Falcon 9 generates more than 1.7 million pounds of thrust at sea level.
Falcon 9
Second stage
The second stage, powered by a single Merlin Vacuum Engine, delivers Falcon 9’s payload to the desired orbit. The second stage engine ignites a few seconds after stage separation, and can be restarted multiple times to place multiple payloads into different orbits.
NUMBER OF ENGINES | 1 vacuum |
BURN TIME | 397 sec |
THRUST | 981 kN / 220,500 lbf |
Falcon 9
Interstage
The interstage is a composite structure that connects the first and second stages, and houses the pneumatic pushers that allow the first and second stage to separate during flight.
Grid fins
Falcon 9 is equipped with four hypersonic grid fins positioned at the base of the interstage. They orient the rocket during reentry by moving the center of pressure.
Payload
HEIGHT | 13.1 m / 43 ft |
DIAMETER | 5.2 m / 17.1 ft |