Falcon 9 is a two-stage launch vehicle powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1). The vehicle is designed, built and operated by SpaceX.
Falcon 9 can be flown with a fairing or with a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. All first- and second-stage vehicle systems are the same in the two configurations; only the payload interface to the second stage changes between the fairing and Dragon configurations.
Falcon 9 was updated in the summer of 2015 to a Full Thrust
configuration from its previous v1.1 configuration (flown from 2013 –
summer 2015). Falcon 9 underwent further updates and first flew its Full
Thrust Block 5 configuration in spring 2018. The Falcon 9 Block 5
architecture focused on improving performance, reliability, and life of the
vehicle, as well as ensuring the vehicle’s ability to meet critical
government crewed and non-crewed mission requirements. Engine
performance on both stages was improved, releasing additional thrust
capability. Thermal protection shielding was modified to support rapid
recovery and refurbishment. Avionics designs, thrust structures, and
other components were upgraded for commonality, reliability, and
performance.
Source: https://www.spacex.com/
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