PAYLOAD USER’S GUIDE

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Falcon User’s Guide 1.3 Falcon Program Overview Drawing on a history of prior launch vehicle and engine programs, SpaceX privately developed the Falcon family of launch vehicles. Component developments include first- and second-stage engines, cryogenic tank structures, avionics, guidance and control software, and ground support equipment. With the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, SpaceX is able to offer a full spectrum of mediumand heavy-lift launch capabilities to its customers (Figure 1-1). SpaceX operates Falcon launch facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Kennedy Space Center, and Vandenberg Air Force Base and can deliver payloads to a wide range of inclinations and altitudes, from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous transfer orbit to escape trajectories for interplanetary missions. Future missions will also be flown from our commercial orbital launch site under development in South Texas. Figure 1-1: SpaceX vehicles are designed for high cross-platform commonality Falcon 9 has conducted successful flights to the International Space Station (ISS), low Earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), and Earth-escape trajectories. A partial flight manifest for the Falcon program can be found at www.spacex.com/missions. 1.4 Falcon Launch Vehicle Safety The Falcon launch vehicles were designed from the beginning to meet NASA human-rated safety margins. We continue to push the limits of rocket technology as we design the safest crew transportation system ever flown while simultaneously advancing toward fully reusable launch vehicles. Our emphasis on safety has led to advancements such as increased structural factors of safety (1.4 versus the traditional 1.25 for flight without crew), greater redundancy and rigorous fault mitigation. Because SpaceX produces one Falcon core vehicle, satellite customers benefit from the high design standards required to safely transport crew. The major safety features are listed in more detail in Table 1-1. Revision 2 © 2015 Space Exploration Technologies Corp. All rights reserved. 6
Falcon User’s Guide Table 1-1: Falcon 9 safety features Design/Operations Feature Designed to NASA human-rating margins and safety requirements Horizontal manufacturing, processing and integration All-liquid propulsion architecture; fuel and oxidizer are stored separately on the ground and in the vehicle. Propellant is not loaded into the vehicle until the vehicle is erected for launch Rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen as primary propellants Two-stage architecture Non-explosive, pneumatic release and separation systems Regular hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) software testing Safety Benefit Improves reliability for payloads without crew through increased factors of safety, redundancy and fault mitigation Reduces work at height during numerous manufacturing, processing and integration procedures, and eliminates many overhead operations Significantly improves safety by eliminating hazardous ground handling operations required for systems that use solid propellant cores or boosters Reduces health hazards to processing, integration, and recovery personnel compared to systems that use high toxicity primary propellants Reduced overall complexity reduces risk associated with fueling and operation of additional stages Zero-debris separation systems significantly reduce orbital debris signature, can be repeatedly tested during the manufacturing process, and eliminate hazardous pyrotechnic devices Complete verification of entire mission profile prior to flight 1.5 Falcon Reliability A study 1 by The Aerospace Corporation found that 91% of known launch vehicle failures in the previous two decades can be attributed to three causes: engine, avionics and stage separation failures. With this in mind, SpaceX incorporated key engine, avionics and staging reliability features for high reliability at the architectural level of Falcon launch vehicles. Significant contributors to reliability include: Engines The Merlin engine that powers the Falcon family of launch vehicles is the only new hydrocarbon engine to be successfully developed and flown in the U.S. in the past 40 years. It has the highest thrust-weight of any boost engine ever made. The liquid-propellant Merlin powers the Falcon propulsion system. The engine features a reliable turbopump design with a single shaft for the liquid oxygen pump, the fuel pump and the turbine. The engine uses a gas generator cycle instead of the more complex staged combustion cycle. The regeneratively cooled nozzle and thrust 1 Chang, I-Shih. “Space Launch Vehicle Reliability,” Aerospace Corporation Publication (2001). Revision 2 © 2015 Space Exploration Technologies Corp. All rights reserved. 7
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