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K. L. E. Societys
KLE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY,
CHIKODI

Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering

Seminar on
FALCON 9: REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE

Guide By
Prof. D. D. Billur Suhan.Kulkarni
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CONTENTS
Introduction
Company Description
Spaceflight
Launch Vehicle
Falcon Program Overview
Falcon 9 Family
Falcon 9 Re-Usable Vehicle Overview
Payload Fairing and Dragon V2 Spacecraft
Programming in F9R
Applications
Advantages and Disadvantages
Conclusion
References
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INTRODUCTION
In todays world the majority of the space launch cost comes from
building the rocket.
Once it leaves its orbit the rocket is destroyed or left behind as the 40
percent of the whole cost of the launch is in launch vehicle.
If one can figure out how effectively reuse rockets just like airplanes,
the cost will be reduced.
A fully reusable vehicle has never been done before. That really is the
fundamental breakthrough needed .
FALCON 9 believes a fully and rapidly reusable rocket is the
breakthrough needed to reduce the cost of space access.
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COMPANY DESCRIPTION
SpaceX offers a family of launch vehicles that improve launch
reliability and increase access to space.
The company was founded on the philosophy that simplicity,
reliability and cost effectiveness.
Established in 2002 by ELON MUSK, the founder of Tesla Motors,
PayPal and the Zip2 Corporation.
In 2008, NASA selected the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle and
Dragon spacecraft for the International Space Station Cargo Resupply
Services contract.
In DEC 21 2015 they launched their F9R.
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SPACEFLIGHT
There are two types of space travel that is
1. Commercial travel
2. Spaceflights
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LAUNCH VEHILE

A rocket-powered vehicle is used to send artificial satellites or

spacecraft into space.

Types of Launch vehicle

1. Expendable Launch Vehicle

2. Re-Usable Launch Vehicle

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FALCON PROGRAM OVERVIEW

SpaceX privately developed the Falcon family of launch

vehicles.
With the Falcon launch vehicles, SpaceX is able to offer a

heavy-lift launch capabilities to its customers.

SpaceX has a wide range of inclinations and altitudes from low

Earth orbit to geosynchronous transfer orbit to escape

trajectories for interplanetary missions.
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FALCON 9 FAMILY
Falcon 9 is a family of two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicles ,

named for its use of nine engines.

Figure: Falcon 9 family

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FALCON 9 RE-USABLE VEHICLE

OVERVIEW

Falcon 9 v1.0 was upgraded to F9R in 2014-15.

F9R was first launch was on DEC 21st 2015.

Falcon 9 is a two-stage launch vehicle powered by liquid

oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene propellent-1 (RP-1).

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Figure: F9R specifications and interior of it

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FALCON 9R FIRST STAGE

The first stage of the F9R featuring stretched propellant tanks
and a modified engine compartment.
The F9R first stage stands about 41.2 meters tall and is 3.66
meters in diameter .
The first stage tank walls and domes are made from aluminum
lithium alloy and utilize reliable welding techniques to provide
maximum strength.
The first stage uses Liquid Oxygen oxidizer and Rocket
Propellant-1 as fuel & is capable of holding 119,100kgs of RP-1
& 276,600kgs of LOX.
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CONTD.

Figure: 9 Merlin Engine

The F9R uses 9 Merline engines on its first stage.
Merlin 1D uses improved manufacturing and quality control
techniques to enable SpaceX to produce a greater number of
engines per year while reducing overall risk.
Electroplating of nickel-cobalt alloy on the chamber.
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FIRST STAGE RE-USE

The overall goal of F9R is to make the first stage of Falcon 9 fully re-

usable by returning them to a landing site vertically.

Falcon 9 is ultimately planned to fly the stage back to the launch site

after separation and land it vertically on deployable landing legs.

The four deployable landing legs and four grid fins used for three axis

control during atmospheric flight, especially during non propulsive

flight phases..
Grid-fins perform well in all velocity ranges including supersonic and

subsonic speeds. Cold gas N2 thrusters are used to rotate the booster
into the direction of flight.
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Figure: Drone landing pad in pacific ocean

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FALCON 9R SECOND STAGE

The second stage matches the first stages diameter of 3.66 meters.
Stage1 to be 13.8 meters in length without payload adapter and 1st
Stage Interstage with an intert mass just under four metric tons.
The second stage can hold 64,820kg of LOX and 27,850kg of RP-1
giving it a launch mass of 96,600kg.
One Merlin 1D engine is powering the second stage.
The flight computers run on Linux with software written in C++.

Figure: Separation stage 2 from stage 1

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PAYLOAD FAIRING AND DRAGON

V2 SPACECRAFT

The Payload Fairing is positioned on top of the stacked vehicle

and its integrated spacecraft.

Dragon V2 is the second version of the SpaceX Dragon

spacecraft which will be a human-rated vehicle able to make a

terrestrial soft landing.
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Four events during flight result in loads that are characterized as shock
loads:
1. Release of the launch vehicle hold-down at liftoff.
2. Stage separation.
3. Fairing deployment.
4. Stage 1 vertical landing.

Figure: F9R Takeoff and Vertical landing

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PROGRAMMING IN F9R
The Flight Software team is about 35 people. They write all the

code for Falcon 9, Grasshopper, and Dragon applications; and do

the core platform work.
The Ground Software team is about 9 people. They primarily code

in LabVIEW.
The Falcon 9 has 3 dual core x86 processors used in version of

Linux.
The flight software is written in C/C++ and runs in the x86

environment.
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Figure: F9R first vertical landing on 21 DEC 2015

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APPLICATIONS
It can lift up satellite to the orbits, can take payload to the
International Space Station.
As this is the first reusable launch vehicle which is fundamental
breakthrough needed to reduce the cost.
The reusable launch vehicle can be reused with in 24 hours after
the Stage-1 F9R lands vertically.
Falcon 9R is being said to be used in human MARS mission in
2020.
In a single launch F9R can put 15 satellite of orbit of each of
200kg.
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ADVANTAGES
Compared to other launch vehicles the this is a reusable launch

vehicle.
By using F9R the cost is being reduced by 40 percent.

The stage-1 can be landed any were means in a ship or sea

drone which is very efficient.

Can be used in Military applications.

Falcon 9R is a highly reliable launch vehicle.

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DISADVANTAGES

It undergoes major temperature changes during its flight, as well

intense pressures and vibrations from winds in the atmosphere.

Refurbishing a rocket engine is often expensive.

To launch F9R the climate condition should be absolute normal.

The vertical landing of F9R is very complicated , if any thing

goes wrong whole purpose of the rocket is gone.

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CONCLUSION
If one can figure out how to effectively reuse rockets just like

airplanes, the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much

as factor of a hundred.
Falcon 9R really is the fundamental breakthrough needed to

revolutionize access to space..

The lowest cost you can make anything for is the spot value of the

material constituents.
To make spaceflight routine and affordable, and to make humans a

multi-planet species.
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REFERENCES
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon9fullthrust

www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/les/falcon9/usersguiderev2.0

www.spacex.com/falcon9

www.theverge.com/2015/12/24/10661544/spacex-reusable-

rocket-refurbishment-repairdesign-cost-falcon-9
www.defenseone.com/politics/2015/03/spacexs-biggest-

military-advantage-isnt-justcheap-rockets/107877/
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