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Falcon 9

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Overcast75 (talk | contribs) at 05:27, 6 December 2012 (Updated payload capacities using more reliable official SpaceX source (Falcon9UserGuide) see pp 19 and 23). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Falcon 9 v1.0
A Falcon 9 v1.0 launches with first Dragon spacecraft
FunctionOrbital launch vehicle
ManufacturerSpaceX
Country of originUnited States
Cost per launchNormal:

LEO (<80% cap.) $49.9M[1]
LEO (>80% cap.) $54.0M[1]
GTO (<3,000 kg) $49.9M[1]

GTO (>3,000 kg) $54.0M[1]
Size
Height54.3 m (178 ft)
Diameter3.66 m (12.0 ft)
Mass333,400 kg (735,000 lb)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to LEO6,622 kg (14,599 lb) - 10,454 kg (23,047 lb)[2]
Payload to
GTO		2,348 kg (5,176 lb) - 7,002 kg (15,437 lb)[2]
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesCape Canaveral SLC-40
Vandenberg SLC-4E
Total launches4
Success(es)3
Failure(s)0
Partial failure(s)1
First flightJune 4, 2010[3]
First stage
Engines9 Merlin 1C
Thrust5,000 kN (1,100,000 lbf)(sl)
Specific impulseSea level: 255 sec (2.6 kN/kg)
Vacuum: 304 sec (3.0 kN/kg)
Burn time170 seconds[2]
PropellantLOX/RP-1
Second stage
Engines1 Merlin Vacuum
Thrust445 kN (100,000 lbf)
Specific impulseVacuum: 342 sec (3.35 kN/kg)[4]
Burn time345 seconds
PropellantLOX/RP-1
[edit on Wikidata]

Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It is currently the only active rocket of the Falcon rocket family.

Both stages of this two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellants. The Falcon 9 can lift payloads of 13,150 kilograms (28,990 lb) to low Earth orbit, and 4,850 kilograms (10,690 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit, which places the Falcon 9 design in the medium-lift range of launch systems.

The Falcon 9 and Dragon combination won a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract from NASA to resupply the International Space Station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station launched on October 7, 2012. Falcon 9 will also be human-rated for transporting astronauts under the CCiCap program.

Design

The base Falcon 9 is a two stage, LOX/RP-1 powered launch vehicle.

First stage

Falcon 9 v1.0 engine configuration (left) and Falcon 9 v1.1 engine configuration (right)

The Falcon 9 first stage is powered by nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines with 556 kN (125,000 lbf) sea-level thrust per engine for a total thrust on liftoff of about 5.0 MN (1.1 million lbf).[5] The Falcon 9 first stage uses a pyrophoric mixture of triethylaluminum-triethylborane (TEA-TEB) as a first-stage ignitor.[6]

A reuseable first stage is being studied with the Grasshopper program.[7]

Second stage

The upper stage is powered by a single Merlin engine modified for vacuum operation, with an expansion ratio of 117:1 and a nominal burn time of 345 seconds. For added reliability of restart, the engine has dual redundant pyrophoric igniters (TEA-TEB).[5] SpaceX has expressed hopes that both stages will eventually be reusable.[8]

The interstage, which connects the upper and lower stage for Falcon 9, is a carbon fiber aluminum core composite structure. Reusable separation collets and a pneumatic pusher system separate the stages. The Falcon 9 tank walls and domes are made from aluminum lithium alloy. SpaceX uses an all-friction stir welded tank, the highest strength and most reliable welding technique available. The second stage tank of Falcon 9 is simply a shorter version of the first stage tank and uses most of the same tooling, material and manufacturing techniques. This saves money during vehicle production.[5]

Four Draco thrusters are used on the Falcon 9 second-stage as a reaction control system.[9]

Control

SpaceX uses a triple-redundant design in the flight computers. The system utilizes three computers in each processing unit, each constantly checking on the others, to instantiate a fault-tolerant design.[10] One processing unit is part of each of the ten Merlin engines used on a Falcon 9 launch.[10]

Development and production

From left to right, Falcon 1, Falcon 9 v1.0, Falcon 9 v1.1 and Falcon Heavy
Falcon 9 v1.1
FunctionOrbital launch vehicle
ManufacturerSpaceX
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height69.2 m (227 ft)[11]
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to LEO13,150 kg (28,990 lb)[11]
Payload to
GTO		4,850 kg (10,690 lb)[11]
Launch history
StatusDevelopment
First stage
Engines9 Merlin 1D
PropellantLOX/RP-1
Second stage
Engines1 Merlin Vacuum
PropellantLOX/RP-1
[edit on Wikidata]

Funding

While SpaceX's previous launcher, the Falcon-1, was developed using private funding, the development of the Falcon-9 was funded by NASA, starting with seed money from the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.[12] Musk is quoted as stating that if NASA funding had not been available to develop the Falcon-9, the vehicle would have been developed with private funding, but at a slower pace.

SpaceX estimated that development costs are on the order of $300 million.[13] NASA evaluated them using a traditional cost-plus contract approach initially at $3.6 billion.[14]

Production history

The original NASA COTS contract called for the first demonstration flight of Falcon in September 2008, and completion of all three demonstration missions by September 2009.[15] February 2008, the plan for the first Falcon 9/Dragon COTS Demo flight was delayed by six months to late in the first quarter of 2009. According to Elon Musk, the complexity of the development work and the regulatory requirements for launching from Cape Canaveral have contributed to the delay.[16] The first COTS demo flight was delayed several additional times, and was eventually scheduled for December 2010.[17]

The first multi-engine test (with two engines connected to the first stage, firing simultaneously) was successfully completed in January 2008,[18] with successive tests leading to the full Falcon 9 complement of nine engines test fired for a full mission length (178 seconds) of the first stage on November 22, 2008.[19] In October 2009, the first flight-ready first stage had a successful all-engine test fire at the company's test stand in McGregor, TX. In November 2009 Space X conducted the initial second stage test firing lasting forty seconds. This test succeeded without aborts or recycles. On January 2, 2010, a full-duration (329 seconds) orbit-insertion firing of the Falcon 9 second stage was conducted at the McGregor test site[citation needed] The full stack arrived at the launch site for integration at the beginning of February 2010, and SpaceX initially scheduled a launch date of March 22, 2010, though they estimated anywhere between one and three months for integration and testing.[20]

On February 25, 2010 SpaceX's first flight stack was set vertical at Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral,[21] and on March 9, SpaceX performed a static fire test, where the first stage was to be fired without taking off. The test aborted at T-2 seconds due to a failure in the system to pump high-pressure helium from the launch pad into the first stage turbopumps to get them spinning in preparation for launch. Subsequent review showed that the failure was a valve that didn't receive a command to open. As the problem was with the pad and not with the rocket itself, it didn't occur at the McGregor test site, which didn't have the same valve setup. Some fire and smoke were seen at the base of the rocket, leading to speculation of an engine fire. However, no damage was sustained by the vehicle or the test pad and the fire and smoke were the result of normal burnoff from the liquid oxygen and fuel mix present in the system prior to launch. All vehicle systems leading up to the abort performed as expected and no additional issues were noted that needed addressing. A subsequent test on March 13 was successful in firing the nine first-stage engines for 3.5 seconds.[22]

The first flight was delayed from March 2010 to June due to review of the Falcon 9 flight termination system by the Air Force.

The first actual launch attempt occurred at 1:30 pm EDT on Friday, June 4, 2010 (1730 UTC). The launch was aborted shortly after ignition, and the rocket successfully went through a failsafe abort.[23] Ground crews were able to recycle the rocket, and successfully launched it at 2:45 pm EDT (1845 UTC) the same day.[24]

As of December 2010, SpaceX stated that the Falcon 9 production line is manufacturing one new Falcon 9 (and Dragon spacecraft) every three months. In 2012, this is expected to double to one every six weeks.[25]

Launcher versions

There are presently two versions of the Falcon 9. The Falcon 9 v1.1 will replace the current Falcon 9 in 2013. It includes realigned 1st-stage engines[26] and longer fuel tanks. The engines themselves will be upgraded to the more powerful Merlin 1D. These improvements will increase the payload capability from about 9,000 kg to over 13,000 kg. The new first stage will also be used as side boosters on Falcon Heavy.[11]

In December 2011, a derivative rocket, known as the Falcon 9 Air, has been announced as part of Stratolaunch Systems' launch service but few details have been released. [27]

Comparison

Version Falcon 9 v1.0 (block 1) Falcon 9 v1.1[11]
Stage 1 9 × Merlin 1C 9 × Merlin 1D
Stage 2 1 × Merlin 1C Vacuum 1 × Merlin 1D Vacuum
Max height (m) 53[11] 69.2 (227 ft)
Diameter (m) 3.6[28] 3.6
Initial thrust (kN) 3,807 5,880
Takeoff weight (tonnes) 318[11] 480
Fairing diameter (inner; m) 3.6 or 5.2 (large fairing)
Payload to LEO (kg) 8,500–9,000 kg (launch at Cape Canaveral)[11] 13,150 kg (launch at Cape Canaveral)
Payload to GTO (kg) 3,400[11] 4,850
Price (Mil. USD) 54
Minimal cost to LEO (USD/kg) 4,106
Minimal cost to GTO (USD/kg) 11,900
Complete success ratio 3/4
Partial success ratio 1/4
Total loss ratio 0/4

Historical data based on circa 2007 specifications may be found in these three sources.[29][30][31]

Features

Reliability

The reliability of the Falcon-9 will not be established until the vehicle has a significant launch record. The company has predicted that it will have high reliability based on the philosophy that "through simplicity, reliability and low cost can go hand-in-hand,"[32] but this remains to be shown. As a comparison, the Russian Soyuz series has more than 1,700 launches to its credit, far more than any other rocket.[33] Of the world's current launch vehicle families, 75% have had at least one failure in the first three flights.[1]

As with the company's smaller Falcon 1 vehicle, Falcon 9's launch sequence includes a hold-down feature that allows full engine ignition and systems check before liftoff. After first stage engine start, the launcher is held down and not released for flight until all propulsion and vehicle systems are confirmed to be operating normally. Similar hold-down systems have been used on other launch vehicles such as the Saturn V[34] and Space Shuttle. An automatic safe shut-down and unloading of propellant occurs if any abnormal conditions are detected.[5]

Falcon 9 has triple redundant flight computers and inertial navigation, with a GPS overlay for additional orbit insertion accuracy.[5]

Engine out capability

Like the Saturn V and the unrealized Falcon 5 design, the presence of multiple first stage engines can in principle allow for mission completion even if one of the first-stage engines fails mid-flight.[5] Falcon 9 is the first rocket since the Saturn series from the Apollo program, for which an engine-out capability was largely demonstrated.[35]

SpaceX emphasized over several years that the Falcon 9 first stage is designed for engine out capability[36] -- the capability to shut down one or more malfunctioning engines and still complete the mission as planned -- the SpaceX CRS-1 mission was a partial success after an engine failure in the first stage: The primary payload was inserted into the correct orbit, but the secondary payload was inserted into the wrong orbit and reentered atmosphere a few days after launch, in order to ensure ISS safety.[37]

In detail, the first stage experienced a loss of pressure in, and then shut down, engine no. 1 at 79 seconds after its October 2012 launch. To compensate for the resulting loss of acceleration, the first stage had to burn 28 seconds longer than planned, probably until depletion of fuel, and the second stage had to burn an extra 15 seconds.[38] That extra burn time of the second stage reduced its fuel reserves, so that the likelihood that the fuel would suffice to reach the planned orbit above the space station with the secondary payload dropped from 99% to 95%. As ISS safety had priority, NASA declined SpaceX the right to restart the second stage and attempt to deliver the secondary payload into the correct orbit. The secondary payload was lost in earth's atmosphere a few days after launch, and was therefore considered a loss.[37]

Reusability

Although the first stage is equipped with parachutes and is intended to be recovered to demonstrate reusability (possibly in the future), to date SpaceX has failed to recover the stages from the initial test launches. By flight six, the first stage is intended to be recovered.[8] Although reusability of the second stage is more difficult, SpaceX has intended to make both stages of the Falcon 9 reusable.[39] Musk stated:

"By [Falcon 9] flight six we think it’s highly likely we’ll recover the first stage, and when we get it back we’ll see what survived through re-entry, and what got fried, and carry on with the process. ... That's just to make the first stage reusable, it'll be even harder with the second stage – which has got to have a full heatshield, it'll have to have deorbit propulsion and communication."[8]

Both stages are covered with a layer of ablative cork and possess parachutes to land them gently in the sea. The stages are also marinized by salt-water corrosion resistant material, anodizing and paying attention to galvanic corrosion.[39]

While many commentators[who?] are skeptical about reusability, Musk has said that if the vehicle does not become reusable, "I will consider us to have failed.”[40]

SpaceX announced on 29 September 2011 at the National Press Club they would attempt to develop powered descent and recovery of both Falcon 9 stages – a fully vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rocket.[41][42] Included was a video[43] said to be an approximation depicting the first stage returning tail-first for a powered descent and the second stage, with heat shield, reentering head first before rotating for a powered descent.[44]

Launch sites

As of November 2012 Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is the only active Falcon 9 launch site. A second site for polar-orbit launches is under development at SLC-4 of Vandenberg Air Force Base.[45]

A third site, intended solely for commercial launches, is currently being decided between locations in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.[46]

Launch costs

At an appearance in May 2004 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Elon Musk testified, "Long term plans call for development of a heavy lift product and even a super-heavy, if there is customer demand. [...] Ultimately, I believe $500 per pound [of payload delivered to orbit] or less is very achievable."[47]

SpaceX formally announced plans for the Falcon 9 on 2005-09-08, describing it as being a "fully reusable heavy lift launch vehicle."[48] A Falcon 9 medium[clarification needed] was described as being capable of launching approximately 21,000 lb (9,500 kg) to low Earth orbit, priced at $27 million per flight ($1286/lb).[49][citation needed]

According to SpaceX in May 2011, a standard Falcon 9 launch will cost $54 million ($1862/lb), while NASA Dragon cargo missions to the ISS will have an average cost of $133 million.[50]

Elon Musk at a National Press Club luncheon on Thursday, September 29, 2011 stated that fuel and oxygen total about $200,000 for Falcon 9 rocket.[51] The first stage uses 39,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and almost 25,000 gallons of kerosene, while the second stage uses 7,300 gallons of liquid oxygen and 4,600 gallons of kerosene.[2] - plus presumably more liquid oxygen used to keep the tanks topped-off, as the oxygen evaporates.

Secondary payload services

Falcon 9 payload services include secondary and tertiary payload connection via an ESPA-ring, the same interstage adapter first utilized for launching secondary payloads on US DoD missions that utilize the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV) Atlas V and Delta IV. This reduces launch costs[citation needed] for the primary mission and enables secondary and even tertiary missions with minimal impact to the original mission. As of 2011, SpaceX announced pricing for ESPA-compatible payloads on the Falcon 9.[52]

Launch history

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch with COTS Demo Flight 1
Further information: List of Falcon 9 missions

The first Falcon 9 flight was launched, after several delays, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on June 4, 2010, at 2:45 pm EDT (19:45 UTC) with a successful orbital insertion.[24]

The second launch of the Falcon 9, and the first of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop it, occurred at 10:43 EST (15:43 UTC) on December 8, 2010, from Cape Canaveral.[53] The Dragon spacecraft completed two orbits, then splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.[54]

A model of a Falcon 9 with a Dragon Capsule can be seen in the room of Howard Wolowitz in the episode 7 of the sixth season of the TV series The Big Bang Theory.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d "Falcon 9 Overview, Launch Cost". SpaceX. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  2. ^ a b c "Falcon 9 User's Guide" (PDF). SpaceX. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Detailed Mission Data – Falcon-9 ELV First Flight Demonstration". Mission Set Database. NASA GSFC. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  4. ^ "SpaceX Falcon 9 Upper Stage Engine Successfully Completes Full Mission Duration Firing" (Press release). SpaceX. March 10, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Falcon 9 Overview". SpaceX. 8 May 2010.
  6. ^ Mission Status Center, June 2, 2010, 1905 GMT, SpaceflightNow, accessed 2010-06-02, Quotation: "The flanges will link the rocket with ground storage tanks containing liquid oxygen, kerosene fuel, helium, gaserous nitrogen and the first stage ignitor source called triethylaluminum-triethylborane, better known as TEA-TAB."
  7. ^ "SpaceX's reusable rocket testbed takes first hop". 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  8. ^ a b c Musk ambition: SpaceX aim for fully reusable Falcon 9, NASAspaceflight.com, 2009-01-12, accessed 2010-06-03
  9. ^ "Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle Payload User's Guide, 2009" (PDF). SpaceX. 2009. Retrieved 2010=02-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ a b Svitak, Amy (2012-11-18). "Dragon's "Radiation-Tolerant" Design". Aviation Week. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Space Launch report, SpaceX Falcon Data Sheet". Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  12. ^ Mr. Alan Lindenmoyer, Manager, NASA Commercial Crew & Cargo Program, quoted in Minutes of the NAC Commercial Space Committee, April 26, 2010
  13. ^ "THE FACTS ABOUT SPACEX COSTS". spacex.com. May 4, 2011.
  14. ^ "Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle NAFCOM Cost Estimates" (PDF). nasa.gov. August 2011.
  15. ^ Space Act Agreement between NASA and Space Exploration Technologies, Inc., for Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Demonstration (pdf)
  16. ^ Coppinger, Rob (2008-02-27). "SpaceX Falcon 9 maiden flight delayed by six months to late Q1 2009". Flight Global.
  17. ^ Irene Klotz. "SpaceX Asks For Oct. 23 Dragon Launch Slot".
  18. ^ "SpaceX Conducts First Multi-Engine Firing of Falcon 9 Rocket" (Press release). SpaceX. 18 January 2008.
  19. ^ "SpaceX successfully conducts full mission-length firing of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle" (Press release). SpaceX. November 23, 2008.
  20. ^ "SpaceX announces Falcon 9 assembly underway at the Cape". Orlando Sentinel. 11 Feb 2010.
  21. ^ "Updates". SpaceX. February 25, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  22. ^ Kremer, Ken (March 13, 2010). "Successful Engine Test Firing for SpaceX Inaugural Falcon 9". Universe Today. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  23. ^ Kaufman, Marc (June 4, 2010). "Falcon 9 rocket launch aborted". Washington Post. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  24. ^ a b Staff writer (August 20, 2010). "SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket enjoys successful maiden flight". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  25. ^ Q & A with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: Master of Private Space Dragons, space.com, 2010-12-08, accessed 2010-12-09. "now have Falcon 9 and Dragon in steady production at approximately one F9/Dragon every three months. The F9 production rate doubles to one every six weeks in 2012."
  26. ^ "Falcon 9's commercial promise to be tested in 2013". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  27. ^ "The Stratolaunch Team". Stratoluanch Systems. 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-06. ... integrate the SpaceX Falcon 9 Air with the Scaled Composites mothership.
  28. ^ "Falcon 9 Overview". SpaceX. 2010. Retrieved 4 Apr 2011.
  29. ^ "SpaceX Falcon Data Sheet". Space Launch Report. 5 July 2007.
  30. ^ "Monster Progress Update (Mostly Falcon 9)". SpaceX. 17 August 2007.
  31. ^ "Falcon 1 Overview". SpaceX. 28 September 2007.
  32. ^ Space Exploration Technologies, Inc., Reliability brochure, v 12, undated (accessed Dec. 29, 2011)
  33. ^ "Russia scores success in its 1,700th Soyuz launch". Retrieved October 07, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  34. ^ NASA PAO, Hold-Down Arms and Tail Service Masts, Moonport, SP-4204 (accessed 26 August 2010)
  35. ^ Behind the Scenes With the World's Most Ambitious Rocket Makers, Popular Mechanics, 2009-09-01, accessed 2012-12-11. "It is the first since the Saturn series from the Apollo program to incorporate engine-out capability—that is, one or more engines can fail and the rocket will still make it to orbit."
  36. ^ "Falcon 9 Overview". SpaceX. 8 May 2010.
  37. ^ a b de Selding, Peter B. (2012-10-11). "Orbcomm Craft Launched by Falcon 9 Falls out of Orbit". Space News. Retrieved 2012-10-12. Orbcomm requested that SpaceX carry one of their small satellites (weighing a few hundred pounds, vs. Dragon at over 12,000 pounds)... The higher the orbit, the more test data [Orbcomm] can gather, so they requested that we attempt to restart and raise altitude. NASA agreed to allow that, but only on condition that there be substantial propellant reserves, since the orbit would be close to the space station. It is important to appreciate that Orbcomm understood from the beginning that the orbit-raising maneuver was tentative. They accepted that there was a high risk of their satellite remaining at the Dragon insertion orbit. SpaceX would not have agreed to fly their satellite otherwise, since this was not part of the core mission and there was a known, material risk of no altitude raise.
  38. ^ Leitenberger, Bernd. "SpaceX CRS-1 Nachlese". Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  39. ^ a b Lindsey, Clark S. "Interview* with Elon Musk". HobbySpace. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
  40. ^ Simburg, Rand. "SpaceX Press Conference". Retrieved 16 June 2010.. Musk quote: “We will never give up! Never! Reusability is one of the most important goals. If we become the biggest launch company in the world, making money hand over fist, but we’re still not reusable, I will consider us to have failed.”
  41. ^ "Elon Musk says SpaceX will attempt to develop fully reusable space launch vehicle". Washington Post. 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-10-11. Both of the rocket's stages would return to the launch site and touch down vertically, under rocket power, on landing gear after delivering a spacecraft to orbit.
  42. ^ Wall, Mike (2011-09-30). "SpaceX Unveils Plan for World's First Fully Reusable Rocket". SPACE.com. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  43. ^ http://www.spacex.com/assets/video/spacex-rtls-green.mp4
  44. ^ National Press Club: The Future of Human Spaceflight, cspan, 29 Sep 2011.
  45. ^ "SpaceX Press Conference". Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  46. ^ "Texas, Florida Battle for SpaceX Spaceport". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  47. ^ Testimony of Elon Musk (May 5, 2004). "Space Shuttle and the Future of Space Launch Vehicles". U.S. Senate.
  48. ^ "SpaceX Announces the Falcon 9 Fully Reusable Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle" (Press release). SpaceX. 2005-09-08.
  49. ^ David, Leonard. "SpaceX tackles reusable heavy launch vehicle". MSN. MSNBC.
  50. ^ http://www.spacex.com/usa.php
  51. ^ "National Press Club: The Future of Human Spaceflight" (Press release). c-span.org. 2012-01-14. {{cite press release}}: Text "http://www.c-span.org/Events/National-Press-Club-The-Future-of-Human-Spaceflight/10737424486/" ignored (help)
  52. ^ Foust, Jeff (2011-08-22). "New opportunities for smallsat launches". The Space Review. Retrieved 2011-09-27. SpaceX ... developed prices for flying those secondary payloads ... A P-POD would cost between $200,000 and $325,000 for missions to LEO, or $350,000 to $575,000 for missions to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). An ESPA-class satellite weighing up to 180 kilograms would cost $4–5 million for LEO missions and $7–9 million for GTO missions, he said.
  53. ^ BBC News. "Private space capsule's maiden voyage ends with a splash." December 8, 2010. December 8, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11948329
  54. ^ "COTS Demo Flight 1 status". SpaceFlight Now.
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