Falcon IX?
I was about to respond to a comment by a blogger named MJ, when I decided to check out his blog, Chair Force Engineer. While looking around, I stumbled across this rather interesting story that I hadn't seen anywhere else yet. Can't vouch for its validity, but I'm sure if it gets picked up by Hobbyspace, that Elon will correct any mistakes MJ or I made in reporting this (since Elon appears to be a regular reader of Hobbyspace.com).
Anyhow, Elon Musk of SpaceX apparently visited whichever Air Force Base MJ is affiliated with, to give a lecture. At the lecture, he made his first public announcement of SpaceX's next project after the Falcon I and the Falcon V: the Falcon IX
. If MJ got his details right, it appears that the Falcon IX will be a nine-Merlin first stage upgrade to the Falcon V, with a stretched 5-meter diameter upper stage (though he doesn't mention the engine count on that). According to MJ's account, since SpaceX slipped its schedule too much for the first Genesis flight this next year, Musk was able to talk Bigelow into agreeing to do his first flight of his next module (I think he was calling it Guardian or something like that) sometime in 2007. Musk also mentioned the possibility of a parallel staged version of this (Delta IV Heavy style).
Not sure what to make of this. The bigger payload shroud is a big win, and this vehicle will likely be able to compete with Delta IV and Atlas V commercially. However, having nine large engines of that style on a single stage seems a bit much. I'm also a bit leary of the whole parallel staging upgrade idea. They had initially been talking about such an idea for the Falcon I Heavy, but eventually discarded it due to the decreased reliability of such a system compared to a more conventional two stage design, so any proposed vehicle is likely subject to change also, especially while it's still in the conceptual stage.
All that said, Falcon I is still yet to launch (though they now have a goal date of September 30th for their first Kwajelein based launch), so we'll have to wait and see how this turns out. I wouldn't be surprised though if the Falcon IX couldn't put at least 25-35klb into LEO.
Anyhow, Elon Musk of SpaceX apparently visited whichever Air Force Base MJ is affiliated with, to give a lecture. At the lecture, he made his first public announcement of SpaceX's next project after the Falcon I and the Falcon V: the Falcon IX
. If MJ got his details right, it appears that the Falcon IX will be a nine-Merlin first stage upgrade to the Falcon V, with a stretched 5-meter diameter upper stage (though he doesn't mention the engine count on that). According to MJ's account, since SpaceX slipped its schedule too much for the first Genesis flight this next year, Musk was able to talk Bigelow into agreeing to do his first flight of his next module (I think he was calling it Guardian or something like that) sometime in 2007. Musk also mentioned the possibility of a parallel staged version of this (Delta IV Heavy style).
Not sure what to make of this. The bigger payload shroud is a big win, and this vehicle will likely be able to compete with Delta IV and Atlas V commercially. However, having nine large engines of that style on a single stage seems a bit much. I'm also a bit leary of the whole parallel staging upgrade idea. They had initially been talking about such an idea for the Falcon I Heavy, but eventually discarded it due to the decreased reliability of such a system compared to a more conventional two stage design, so any proposed vehicle is likely subject to change also, especially while it's still in the conceptual stage.
All that said, Falcon I is still yet to launch (though they now have a goal date of September 30th for their first Kwajelein based launch), so we'll have to wait and see how this turns out. I wouldn't be surprised though if the Falcon IX couldn't put at least 25-35klb into LEO.
posted by Jon Goff at 12:01 AM
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