Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond. Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital class reusable rocket.

Building on the achievements of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, SpaceX is working on a next generation of fully reusable launch vehicles that will be the most powerful ever built, capable of carrying humans to Mars and other destinations in the solar system.

Falcon Heavy draws upon Falcon 9’s proven design, which minimizes stage separation events and maximizes reliability. The second-stage Merlin Vacuum Engine delivers the rocket’s payload to orbit after the main engines cut off and the first-stage cores separate.

On Saturday, October 24 at 11:31 a.m. EDT, 11:31 UTC, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched 60 Starlink satellites to orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission in June 2020 and a Starlink mission in September 2020.

In the unlikely event of an emergency, Dragon’s launch abort system can quickly separate the spacecraft from Falcon 9. Using its SuperDraco engines, Dragon will propel itself away from the launch vehicle.

The Raptor engine is a reusable methane-oxygen staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship system and has twice the thrust of the Falcon 9 Merlin engine. Starship will be powered by six engines, three Raptor engines, and three Raptor Vacuum (RVac) engines, which are designed for use in the vacuum of space.

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SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

On Saturday, October 24 at 11:31 a.m. EDT, 11:31 UTC, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched 60 Starlink satellites to orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission in June 2020 and a Starlink mission in September 2020.

Falcon 9’s first stage lofts Dragon to orbit. Falcon 9’s first and second stage separate. Second stage accelerates Dragon to orbital velocity.