Launch History
As of 2009, the Falcon 1 has made five launches. The first three failed, however the subsequent two flights were successful, the first successful launch making it the first privately funded and developed liquid-propellent rocket to reach orbit. The fifth launch was its first commercial flight, and placed RazakSAT into low Earth orbit.
As part of a US$15 million contract, Falcon 1 was to carry the TacSat-1 in 2005. By late May 2005, SpaceX was ready to launch TacSat-1 from Vandenberg, but the Air Force did not want the launch to occur until the final Titan 4 flew from nearby SLC 4E. Subsequent and repeated delays due to Falcon 1 launch failures delayed TacSat-1's launch. After TacSat-2 was launched on an Orbital Sciences Minotaur I on December 16, 2006, the Department of Defense re-evaluated the need for launching TacSat-1. In August 2007, the Department of Defense canceled the planned launch of TacSat-1 because all of the TacSat objectives had been met.
| Flight No | Date & Time (GMT) | Payload | Customer | Outcome | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 March 2006, 22:30 (25 March, 09:30 local) |
FalconSAT-2 | DARPA | Failure | Engine failure at T+25 seconds Loss of vehicle |
| 2 | 21 March 2007, 01:10 (13:10 local) |
DemoSat | DARPA | Failure | Successful first stage burn and transition to second stage, maximum altitude 289 km Harmonic oscillation at T+5 minutes Premature engine shutdown at T+7 min 30 s Failed to reach orbit Failed to recover first stage Claimed to be a "Partial success" as it gathered enough data for operational flights |
| 3 | 3 August 2008, 03:34 (15:34 local) |
Trailblazer | ORS | Failure | Residual stage 1 thrust led to collision between stage 1 and stage 2 |
| PRESat | NASA | ||||
| NanoSail-D | NASA | ||||
| Explorers | Celestis | ||||
| 4 | 28 September 2008, 23:15 (11:15 local/16:15 PDT) |
RatSat | SpaceX | Successful | Initially scheduled for 23–25 Sept, carried dummy payload – mass simulator, 165 kg (originally intended to be RazakSAT) |
| 5 | 14 July 2009 03:35 | RazakSAT | ATSB | Successful | |
| Previously Scheduled Launches | |||||
| 2011 | TBD | SpaceDev | Not scheduled | was to be maiden flight of 1e configuration | |
| 2011–2014 | O2G | Orbcomm | Scheduled | 18 satellites, launch vehicle switched to Falcon 9, | |
| 2013 | Formosat-5 | NSPO | Scheduled | Launch vehicle switched from Falcon 1e to Falcon 9 | |
| 2014 through 2015 | Small satellites | Astrium | Not scheduled | Launch vehicle was to be Falcon 1e | |
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