Launch History
As of 2009, the Falcon 1 has made five launches. The first three failed, however the subsequent two flights were successful, the first successful launch making it the first privately funded and developed liquid-propellent rocket to reach orbit. The fifth launch was its first commercial flight, and placed RazakSAT into low Earth orbit.
As part of a US$15 million contract, Falcon 1 was to carry the TacSat-1 in 2005. By late May 2005, SpaceX was ready to launch TacSat-1 from Vandenberg, but the Air Force did not want the launch to occur until the final Titan 4 flew from nearby SLC 4E. Subsequent and repeated delays due to Falcon 1 launch failures delayed TacSat-1's launch. After TacSat-2 was launched on an Orbital Sciences Minotaur I on December 16, 2006, the Department of Defense re-evaluated the need for launching TacSat-1. In August 2007, the Department of Defense canceled the planned launch of TacSat-1 because all of the TacSat objectives had been met.
| Flight No | Date & Time (GMT) | Payload | Customer | Outcome | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 March 2006, 22:30 (25 March, 09:30 local) |
FalconSAT-2 | DARPA | Failure | Engine failure at T+25 seconds Loss of vehicle |
| 2 | 21 March 2007, 01:10 (13:10 local) |
DemoSat | DARPA | Failure | Successful first stage burn and transition to second stage, maximum altitude 289 km Harmonic oscillation at T+5 minutes Premature engine shutdown at T+7 min 30 s Failed to reach orbit Failed to recover first stage Claimed to be a "Partial success" as it gathered enough data for operational flights |
| 3 | 3 August 2008, 03:34 (15:34 local) |
Trailblazer | ORS | Failure | Residual stage 1 thrust led to collision between stage 1 and stage 2 |
| PRESat | NASA | ||||
| NanoSail-D | NASA | ||||
| Explorers | Celestis | ||||
| 4 | 28 September 2008, 23:15 (11:15 local/16:15 PDT) |
RatSat | SpaceX | Successful | Initially scheduled for 23–25 Sept, carried dummy payload – mass simulator, 165 kg (originally intended to be RazakSAT) |
| 5 | 14 July 2009 03:35 | RazakSAT | ATSB | Successful | |
| Previously Scheduled Launches | |||||
| 2011 | TBD | SpaceDev | Not scheduled | was to be maiden flight of 1e configuration | |
| 2011–2014 | O2G | Orbcomm | Scheduled | 18 satellites, launch vehicle switched to Falcon 9, | |
| 2013 | Formosat-5 | NSPO | Scheduled | Launch vehicle switched from Falcon 1e to Falcon 9 | |
| 2014 through 2015 | Small satellites | Astrium | Not scheduled | Launch vehicle was to be Falcon 1e | |
|
|||||
Read more about this topic: Falcon 1
Famous quotes containing the words launch and/or history:
“Now launch the small ship, now as the body dies
and life departs, launch out, the fragile soul
in the fragile ship of courage, the ark of faith
with its store of food and little cooking pans
and change of clothes,”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“The steps toward the emancipation of women are first intellectual, then industrial, lastly legal and political. Great strides in the first two of these stages already have been made of millions of women who do not yet perceive that it is surely carrying them towards the last.”
—Ellen Battelle Dietrick, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 13, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)