Falcon 9 launches satellites and the Dragon spacecraft, then lands its first stage so it can fly again.
spacex-falcon-9 Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket built by SpaceX. It carries satellites inside a nose cover called a fairing, or the Dragon spacecraft in its place. The first stage flies back and lands, and by February 2025 SpaceX said it had re-flown its boosters more than 384 times.
Keeping the structure light leaves the booster enough mass budget to fly back and land. The tanks are a low-density alloy of aluminium and lithium. The section between the two stages, the interstage, is a sandwich of aluminium honeycomb and carbon fibre.
A partly reusable two-stage rocket used to launch satellites and the Dragon spacecraft. Its light aluminum-lithium tanks and carbon-fibre interstage are what keep enough mass budget for the booster to fly back and land.
The tank walls are an aluminium-lithium alloy, joined by friction stir welding, in which a spinning tool stirs two pieces of metal together. A double-wall tube carries liquid oxygen through the middle of the kerosene tank to the engines. The nine engines sit on a frame SpaceX calls the Octaweb.
The interstage is a composite structure, an aluminium honeycomb core between carbon fibre face sheets. Mechanical latches at three points join its top to the base of the second stage. After the first-stage engines shut down, high-pressure helium releases the latches and four gas-powered pushers force the stages apart.
The two halves of the fairing are latched along a seam, and helium releases the latches before four pushers force them apart. SpaceX's first user guide describes the shell as aluminium honeycomb wrapped in carbon fibre. Each half returns under a steerable parachute, and by February 2025 SpaceX had re-flown halves on 307 missions.
The second-stage tank is a shorter version of the first stage's, and one Merlin Vacuum engine powers it. Two redundant igniters use a chemical that catches fire by itself, so the engine can restart in flight. Cold nitrogen gas thrusters handle pointing and roll.
The landing legs, carbon fibre and aluminium, span about 18 metres and weigh under 2,100 kg in all. Grid fins steer the stage down: the first ones were aluminium, and titanium ones replaced them. One landing platform at sea is a drone ship called Of Course I Still Love You.
The walls of the propellant tanks, joined by friction stir welding.
Low-density plate from Constellium for the barrels of the first-stage tanks.
The core of the interstage sandwich. SpaceX's first guide gives the fairing shell the same construction.
The outer sheets of the interstage and fairing, and part of the landing legs, with aluminium.
Grid fins that steer the falling first stage. They replaced the earlier aluminium ones.
Redundant batteries on each stage. SpaceX gives no detail on the cells.
Falcon 9 grew out of Falcon 1, and SpaceX's first guide says it kept that rocket's Merlin engines, structure and launch control system. Nine Merlin 1D engines power the first stage and one Merlin Vacuum the second. Dragon rides on top in place of the fairing, and the first launch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites carried 21 of them. Constellium supplies the aluminium-lithium plate for the tanks. Three Falcon 9 first stages form the first stage of Falcon Heavy.
SpaceX
nine on the first stage, up to 845 kN each at sea level
one on the second stage with a fixed 165:1 nozzle
SpaceX
three Falcon 9 first stages form the Falcon Heavy first stage; second stage and fairing are shared
Blackwing Space
Baby Bird (Sparrow 1U) launched on the Transporter-18 rideshare; the release is dateline October 2, 2026 and the page header says September 02, 2026
EnduroSat
3UCubed launched 28 November 2025 at 10:19 a.m. PST from Vandenberg (UNH news)
Lockheed Martin
launched SV01 (2018), SV03, SV04, SV06 and SV09 per Lockheed; Wikipedia lists Falcon 9 Block 5 for SV05, SV07, SV08 and SV10 too
second Lockheed-confirmed Falcon 9 flight
Lockheed-confirmed Falcon 9 flight, January 2023
same Merlin engines, structural architecture and launch control system as Falcon 1 (2009 guide, v1.0)
SpaceX
first stage is three Falcon 9 first stages with strengthened cores; same second stage and fairing
Airware 2195-T8 aluminium-lithium plate for the tank barrels and domes
SpaceX
Merlin 1D engine. Here: nine on the first stage, up to 845 kN each at sea level. There: 27 on the first stage: nine on the centre core and nine on each of the two side boosters.
ESA
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage; Fairing shell (aluminium honeycomb with carbon fibre face sheets). There: Structure (summary).
Carbon fibre. Here: Interstage face sheets; Landing legs. There: Outer panels (3).
Aluminium. Here: Tank domes (aluminium). There: Telescope (structure and mirrors, 3 telescopes).
lithium-ion batteries. Here: Lithium-ion batteries (redundant, on each stage). There: Battery.
Titanium. Here: Grid fins, titanium version. There: Focal plane interconnecting structure; Instrument mounting feet / flexures and more.
ESA
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage; Fairing shell (aluminium honeycomb with carbon fibre face sheets). There: H-configuration inner panels (3); Outer panels without cells and more.
Carbon fibre. Here: Interstage face sheets; Landing legs. There: Platform structure supplier (eoPortal).
Aluminium. Here: Tank domes (aluminium). There: TPMU/DSLP housing.
lithium-ion batteries. Here: Lithium-ion batteries (redundant, on each stage). There: Battery.
ESA / Airbus
Carbon fibre. Here: Interstage face sheets; Landing legs. There: OBA sandwich panels.
Aluminium. Here: Tank domes (aluminium). There: Main structure tube; Equipment box (EQB) and more.
lithium-ion batteries. Here: Lithium-ion batteries (redundant, on each stage). There: Batteries and solar cells.
Titanium. Here: Grid fins, titanium version. There: OBA unit attachment fittings; Instrument support bipods (3).
NASA / JPL
Carbon fibre. Here: Interstage face sheets; Landing legs. There: Heat shield facesheets.
Aluminium. Here: Tank domes (aluminium). There: Wheel body (6).
lithium-ion batteries. Here: Lithium-ion batteries (redundant, on each stage). There: Rechargeable batteries (2).
Titanium. Here: Grid fins, titanium version. There: Wheel spokes; Legs / suspension tubing and more.
SpaceX
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage; Fairing shell (aluminium honeycomb with carbon fibre face sheets). There: Interstage (Falcon 9); Centre-core interstage (4.5 m).
Carbon fibre. Here: Interstage face sheets; Landing legs. There: Landing legs (Falcon 9 booster).
Airware 2195-T8 plate. Here: Tank barrels and domes (first stage). There: Tank barrels and domes (Falcon 9 first stage).
Aluminum-lithium alloy. Here: Tank walls. There: Tank walls (Falcon 9 first stage, basis of the boosters).
Rockwest Composites
Aluminium honeycomb core. Here: Interstage; Fairing shell (aluminium honeycomb with carbon fibre face sheets). There: Core.
Carbon fibre. Here: Interstage face sheets; Landing legs. There: Face skin carbon fibre; HR40 / NB321 unidirectional prepreg and more.
Aluminium. Here: Tank domes (aluminium). There: Aluminium inserts, in-plane and out-of-plane (DiskSat build).
SpaceX publishes no materials list for Falcon 9. It does not say which aluminium alloy the landing legs use, or what the engine mount and heat shielding are made of. Nor does it name who builds the fairing or the helium pressure vessels. Published descriptions differ on whether the tank domes use the same lithium alloy as the barrels.
What is written above is built from these numbers and quotes. Each row links to the page it was taken from. Get all of it as JSON, or ask our MCP server.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Height (with Dragon) | 48.1 m |
| First-stage thrust | 1 million lbf (vacuum), nine Merlin engines |
| First successful launch | 4 June 2010 |
| Height (both stages, interstage, standard fairing) | 70 m (229.6 ft) |
| Diameter (first and second stage) | 3.66 m (12 ft) |
| First-stage liftoff thrust (user guide table) | 7,686 kN (1,710,000 lbf) |
| Second-stage vacuum thrust | 981 kN (220,500 lbf) |
| Liftoff mass | 549,054 kg (1,207,920 lb) |
| Payload to low Earth orbit (NASA press kit figure) | 22,800 kg (50,265 lb) |
| Thrust in vacuum (first stage) | over 1.8 million lbf |
| Standard fairing size | 5.2 m outer diameter, 13.2 m high |
| Landing leg span and mass | span about 18 m, under 2,100 kg |
| Block 5 first flight | spring 2018 |
| Booster re-flights (as of Feb 2025) | more than 384 |
| Fairing-half re-flights (as of Feb 2025) | 307 missions |
| Falcon launches completed by end of 2024 | over 430 |
| First stage LOX temperature (Full Thrust) | subcooled to 66.5 K |
Each material named in the sources: where it is used here, which other products use it, and its key numbers when its material page exists.
Used in 2 partsInterstage · Fairing shell (aluminium honeycomb with carbon fibre face sheets)
Used in 2 partsInterstage face sheets · Landing legs
Used in 1 partTank barrels and domes (first stage)
Used in 1 partTank domes (aluminium)
Used in 1 partTank walls
Used in 1 partLithium-ion batteries (redundant, on each stage)
Used in 1 partGrid fins, titanium version
Tanks, interstage and recovery hardware have sourced materials; engines, fairing, upper stage detail and TPS do not. Components, suppliers and links were added from public sources. A material is left blank where no source states it.
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tank walls“The Falcon 9 tank walls are made from an aluminum lithium alloy.” | Aluminum-lithium alloyaluminium-lithium-alloy | — | — |
| Tank barrels and domes (first stage)“Low-density Airware 2195-T8 plate” | Airware 2195-T8 plate (Al-Li, Constellium)aluminium-lithium-2195-t8 | 2195-T8 | — |
| Tank joints“SpaceX manufactures the tanks using friction-stir welding, the strongest and most reliable welding technique available.” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstage“is a composite structure with an aluminum honeycomb core and carbon fiber face sheets.” | Aluminum honeycomb core with carbon fiber face sheetsaluminium-honeycomb-hexweb | — | — |
| Interstage face sheets“carbon fiber face sheets” | Carbon fibercarbon-fibre | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grid fins“deployable aluminum or titanium grid fins” | Aluminum or titanium (not specified which) | — | — |
| Landing legs“landing gear comprised of carbon fiber and aluminum” | Carbon fiber and aluminumcarbon-fibre | — | — |
| Grid fins, titanium versionsteer the descending first stage; later fins replaced the aluminium ones“aluminum grid fins were replaced by titanium versions” | titaniumtitanium | — | — |
| Drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You'sea-going landing platform for first-stage recovery“OF COURSE I STILL LOVE YOU DRONE SHIP” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merlin engines“Nine SpaceX Merlin regeneratively cooled engines power the Falcon 9 first stage.” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairing | Not said | — | — |
| Fairing shell (aluminium honeycomb with carbon fibre face sheets)protects the payload during ascent“a composite structure consisting of a 1-inch (2.5-cm) thick aluminum honeycomb core surrounded by carbon fiber face sheet plies” | aluminium honeycomb core (1 in thick) with carbon fibre face sheet pliesaluminium-honeycomb-hexweb | — | — |
| Fairing halves latched along a vertical seamhold the two fairing halves together until jettison“The two halves of the standard fairing are fastened by mechanical latches along the fairing vertical seam.” | Not said | — | — |
| Fairing pneumatic pushers (four)push the fairing halves apart after the latches release“a high-pressure helium circuit releases the latches, and four pneumatic pushers facilitate positive-force deployment of the two halves” | Not said | — | — |
| Extended fairing with frangible seamnon-standard 18.7 m fairing split by a contained detonating cord“The two halves of the extended fairing are fastened by a bolted frangible seam joint.” | Not said | — | — |
| Redundant detonators and expanding tube assembly (extended fairing)breaks the frangible seam in a controlled way“redundant detonators initiate a detonation cord contained inside an expanding tube assembly” | Not said | — | — |
| Fairing access doorsingle 610 mm circular door for late payload access“The standard fairing includes one access door in the cylindrical portion” | Not said | — | — |
| Acoustic blanketsreduce acoustic loads on the payload inside the recoverable fairing“standard fairing with acoustic blankets installed” | Not said | — | — |
| Fairing recovery system (steerable parachute and RCS thrusters)guides fairing halves back for recovery and reuse“equipped with a steerable parachute as well as RCS thrusters” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-stage LOX tank (monocoque)holds the liquid oxygen oxidiser“LOX tank – monocoque” | Not said | — | — |
| First-stage RP-1 fuel tank (skin and stringer)holds the rocket-grade kerosene fuel“Fuel tank – skin and stringer” | Not said | — | — |
| Common dome between the LOX and RP-1 tanksbulkhead that separates the two propellant tanks“A common dome separates the LOX and RP-1 tanks” | Not said | — | — |
| Double-wall LOX transfer tubecarries liquid oxygen through the centre of the RP-1 tank to the engine section“a double-wall transfer tube carries LOX through the center of the RP-1 tank to the engine section” | Not said | — | — |
| Tank domes (aluminium)closes the ends of the propellant tanks“Aluminum lithium skin; aluminum domes” | aluminium domes (alloy not stated); aluminium-lithium skinaluminium | — | — |
| Octaweb engine mount (thrust structure)arranges the nine engines and carries their thrust into the tank structure“The booster stage has 9 engines, arranged in a configuration that SpaceX calls Octaweb.” | Not said | — | — |
| Individual engine bays (one metal bay per engine)isolates each engine from its neighbours if one fails“each engine is housed within its own metal bay to isolate it from neighboring engines” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merlin 1D engine (x9)first-stage main engines; eight around one centre engine“The first stage M1D engines are configured in a circular pattern, with eight engines surrounding a center engine.” | Not said | — | Supplier: SpaceX |
| Hold-before-release (hold-down) systemkeeps the rocket on the pad until all engines are verified at full thrust“After ignition, a hold-before-release system ensures that all engines are verified for full-thrust performance before the rocket is released for flight.” | Not said | — | — |
| Thrust vector control using kerosene as hydraulic fluidgimbals the engines without a separate hydraulic system“the first stage thrust vector control system pulls from the high-pressure rocket-grade kerosene system” | Not said | — | — |
| Heated-helium tank pressurisationpressurises the LOX and RP-1 tanks of both stages“Tank pressurization Heated helium Heated helium” | Not said | — | — |
| Cold-gas nitrogen thrusters (first stage)attitude control and flip manoeuvre during recovery“Cold gas thrusters flip first stage” | Not said | — | — |
| Block 5 thermal protection shieldingprotects the engine section during re-entry for rapid refurbishment“Thermal protection shielding was modified to support rapid recovery and refurbishment.” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage mating latches (three points)hold first and second stage together until separation“mated by mechanical latches at three points between the top of the interstage and the base of the second stage fuel tank” | Not said | — | — |
| Helium release circuit with redundant actuatorsunlatches the stages after first-stage engine shutdown“After the first stage engines shut down, a high-pressure helium circuit is used to release the latches via redundant actuators.” | Not said | — | — |
| Stage separation pneumatic pushers (four, one redundant)push the second stage away from the interstage“The helium system also preloads four pneumatic pushers, which provide a positive force for stage separation after latch release.” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second-stage propellant tankholds LOX and RP-1 for the vacuum engine“The second stage tank for Falcon vehicles is a shorter version of the first stage tank” | Not said | — | — |
| Merlin Vacuum engine (x1)single upper-stage engine with a fixed 165:1 expansion nozzle“A single Merlin Vacuum (MVac) engine powers the second stage, using a fixed 165:1 expansion nozzle.” | Not said | — | Supplier: SpaceX |
| Dual redundant TEA-TEB igniterspyrophoric ignition so the vacuum engine can restart“the engine contains dual redundant triethylaluminum-triethylborane (TEA-TEB) pyrophoric igniters” | Not said | — | — |
| Cold nitrogen gas attitude control systempointing and roll control of the second stage“the second stage contains a cold nitrogen gas (GN2) attitude control system (ACS) for pointing and roll control” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payload attach fitting, 1,575 mm circular PAFstandard bolted interface for medium-class payloads“a 1,575-mm (62.01 in.) diameter bolted interface” | Not said | — | — |
| Payload attach fitting, 2,624 mm circular PAFlarger bolted interface for payloads above the 1,575 mm capability“SpaceX offers a PAF with a 2,624-mm (103.307 in.) bolted interface” | Not said | — | — |
| Payload attach fitting, 3,117 mm circular PAFinterface for heavy to ultra-heavy payloads“SpaceX offers a PAF with a 3,117-mm (122.717 in.) bolted interface” | Not said | — | — |
| Payload attach fitting, 3,117 mm strut PAFstrut-architecture interface used only with the extended fairing“The 3,117-mm strut PAF can be used only with an extended fairing.” | Not said | — | — |
| Square payload attach fitting (96 fastener holes)mounts single or multiple payloads and constellation dispensers“The square PAF has 96 holes” | Not said | — | — |
| Close-out platecloses the volume between the payload and the upper stage“includes a close-out plate between the payload and the upper stage of the launch vehicle” | Not said | — | — |
| Rideshare Dispenser RingSpaceX-developed adapter for secondary payloads“a SpaceX-developed Rideshare Dispenser Ring” | Not said | — | — |
| Surfboard secondary-payload adapterSpaceX-developed structure for secondary payloads“a SpaceX-developed Surfboard” | Not said | — | — |
| Dragon spacecraft (crew or cargo configuration)alternative payload mounted on the second stage instead of a fairing“DRAGON SPACECRAFT” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transporter Erector (TE)moves the rocket and Dragon upright over the flame trench“The Transporter Erector (TE) is used to move the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the top of the Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad.” | Not said | — | — |
| Horizontal Integration Facility (LC-39A)processes rockets horizontally before roll-out to the pad“SpaceX constructed a Horizontal Integration Facility near the perimeter of the pad” | Not said | — | — |
No SpaceX primary materials list; fairing, Merlin alloys, grid fin alloy, legs, upper stage not stated. More detail: SpaceX publishes no bill of materials. Not sourced in any document reachable: octaweb structure materials, engine-bay and heat-shield materials, helium COPV (pressure vessel) maker and materials, grid-fin and leg actuator hardware, flight-computer and sensor vendors, fairing supplier. The 2025 user guide says 'aluminum domes' while Light Metal Age says Airware 2195-T8 plate is used for barrels and domes; the two statements are not reconciled. Fairing core thickness (1 in) comes from the 2009 v1.0 user guide and may have changed. Quotes taken from the SpaceX user guides, the NASA press kit and the NASA callout graphics were machine-checked against the downloaded PDF text; quotes from Wikipedia, Light Metal Age and Spaceflight Now came through a text extractor and were not machine-checked. Wikipedia is used only for the Octaweb name, the fairing recovery system and the titanium grid-fin change, where no primary page was readable (spacex.com vehicle pages return no text). The 70 m height in the user guide is with the standard fairing. More detail: SpaceX publishes no bill of materials. Not sourced in any document reachable: octaweb structure materials, engine-bay and heat-shield materials, helium COPV (pressure vessel) maker and materials, grid-fin and leg actuator hardware, flight-computer and sensor vendors, fairing supplier. The 2025 user guide says 'aluminum domes' while Light Metal Age says Airware 2195-T8 plate is used for barrels and domes; the two statements are not reconciled. Fairing core thickness (1 in) comes from the 2009 v1.0 user guide and may have changed. Quotes taken from the SpaceX user guides, the NASA press kit and the NASA callout graphics were machine-checked against the downloaded PDF text; quotes from Wikipedia, Light Metal Age and Spaceflight Now came through a text extractor and were re-checked in a second fetch pass but not against a saved copy of the page. Wikipedia is used only for the Octaweb name, the fairing recovery system and the titanium grid-fin change, where no primary page was readable (spacex.com vehicle pages return no text). The 70 m height in the user guide is with the standard fairing.
Collected from public pages and documents, checked 4 Nov 2026.
