![]() All 9 engines fired for 160 seconds, then 2 engines were shut down to limit the acceleration and the remaining seven engines continued firing for 18 more seconds, as would occur in a typical climb to orbit. The test consumed over half a million pounds of propellant. In vacuum, the thrust increases to approximately one million pounds or 4 times the maximum thrust of a 747 aircraft. For the static test firing, the first stage remained firmly secured to the massive vertical test stand, where it fired for 178 seconds or nearly 3 minutes, simulating the climb of the giant rocket from the surface of the Earth towards orbit.Īt full power, the rocket generated 855,000 pounds of force at sea level. (SpaceX) successfully conducted a full mission-length firing of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle's first stage at its McGregor Test Facility in Texas, on 22 November 2009. Acceptance testing began in late summer 2009 with the first stage and concluded in October 2009 at SpaceX's Texas facility with completion of acceptance testing for the second stage. The tests subjected both stages to a variety of structural load and proof pressure tests to verify acceptability for flight. Acceptance testing took place at SpaceX's Texas Test Site, a 300-acre structural and propulsion testing facility, located just outside of Waco, Texas. In October 2009, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) announced the successful completion of acceptance testing of both the Falcon 9 first and second stages in preparation for the first flight of Falcon 9. Both components were designed, built and tested by SpaceX. Falcon 9's first stage and interstage also passed ground wind qualification tests, critical for when the vehicle is vertical on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. In addition, the first stage and interstage were subjected to stiffness tests, maximum dynamic pressure loading and main engine cutoff conditions all at expected values, as well as ultimate loads. The testing regimen included over 150 pressurization cycles, exceeding the number of required life cycles by more than 100. The first stage also passed this human rating milestone when subjected to structural bending tests. The 1.4 factor of safety designation meant that the first stage tank and the interstage can withstand 140 percent the maximum internal pressure expected during flight, and qualifies both pieces of hardware to meet human rating safety requirements, as defined by NASA. The first stage tank and interstage hardware were subjected to a proof test of 1.1 times the maximum expected operating pressure (MEOP), and a burst pressure proof test of 1.4 MEOP qualifying both articles with a 1.4 factor of safety. Testing took place at SpaceX's Texas Test Site, a 300 acre structural and propulsion testing facility, located just outside of Waco, Texas. In July 2009, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) announced the successful completion of qualification testing for the Falcon 9 launch vehicle first stage tank and interstage. SpaceX hoped that their second launch would be an operational mission to the International Space Station using the Dragon spacecraft, also designed by SpaceX. The $1.6 billion contract represents a minimum of 12 flights, with an option to order additional missions for a cumulative total contract value of up to $3.1 billion. In December 2008, NASA announced the selection of SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon Spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) when the Space Shuttle retires in 2010. The Falcon 9 will launch SpaceX's spaceship Dragon with up to 7 humans from 2009 on. At full power, the 9 engines consumed 3,200 lbs of fuel and liquid oxygen per second, and generated almost 850,000 pounds of thrust. A second firing on 1 August 2008 completed a major NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) milestone almost 2 months early. (SpaceX) conducted the first 9 engine firing of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle at its Texas Test Facility outside McGregor on 31 July 2008. The question is whether he can be considered a private or government funded entrepreneur. 10-20 times the amount he invested himself. ![]() Not all the money are transferred yet, but he received about $2 bln, i.e. ![]() Elon Musk spent about $1 bln for creating his private spacecraft, including $100-200 of his own funds (according to different sources).
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