Why is Falcon 1 historically important?

Its fourth flight in 2008 made it the first privately-developed liquid-fuelled rocket to reach orbit, proving the commercial-spaceflight model that SpaceX went on to scale with Falcon 9.

How many times did Falcon 1 fly?

Five times. The first three flights failed, the fourth and fifth succeeded, after which SpaceX retired the vehicle in favour of Falcon 9.

What replaced Falcon 1?

Falcon 9 — a far larger and more capable rocket that reused Falcon 1's Merlin engine technology and became SpaceX's workhorse.

Rockets

Small-lift launch vehicle · SpaceX

Falcon 1

The two-stage small-lift rocket that proved SpaceX could reach orbit.

RetiredSpaceX

Total launches

40%

Success rate

Successful

Failures

Consecutive successes

Overview

About Falcon 1

Falcon 1 was SpaceX's first orbital launch vehicle, a small two-stage rocket powered by a single Merlin engine on the first stage. After three failed attempts, its fourth flight in September 2008 made it the first privately-developed, liquid-fuelled rocket to reach orbit — a milestone that kept the young company alive.

Only five Falcon 1 missions flew before SpaceX retired it to focus on the much larger Falcon 9. Its engine, avionics and operational lessons fed directly into that vehicle.

Cadence