6 thoughts on “SpaceX’s Next Launch”

  1. That line has already been changed to “need more propellant to get to orbit”, so I guess what the original meant was just “I tried to phrase things colloquially and goofed a bit”.

  2. Falcon 9 Block 5? Why does Elon keep changing the bloody names. The version numbers worked just fine… First FT now he’s going Russian or something. If its Block 5, which was Block 4?
    The thrust improvements I can understand. It’s kinda like the uprating of the Shuttle engines for the ISS or from the Naro to Angara. You push the engines further as you realize you have the margin to do it. Is that supposed to be Block 4?

    I think I said this before but the improvements in the specs for the Merlin since its first version are just simply insane: 340 kN SL (Merlin 1A), 350 kN SL (Merlin 1C), 650 kN SL (Merlin 1D), 845 kN (Merlin 1D+), 939 kN (Merlin 1D++). Makes me wonder if they will need the Falcon 9 Heavy at all.

    1. Oh come on. It’s fun to change naming systems during a production run.

      Falcon 9.
      Falcon 9 v1.1
      Falcon 9 Full Thrust
      Falcon 9 Block 5
      Falcon 9 Mark 6
      Falcon 9 Tranche 7
      Falcon 9 VIII
      Falcon 9 VIIIB
      Falcon 9 VIIIB Mk 2
      Falcon 9 VIIIB Mk 2 Model C
      Falcon 9 IX
      Falcon 9.10
      Falcon 9/11
      Evolved Falcon 9
      Falcon 9: The Sequel
      Falcon 9H
      Falcon 9H.1
      Falcon XP
      Falcon M2019
      Falcon 6000
      Gyrfalcon
      Gyrfalcon 2
      Sooty Falcon (a real species which they won’t overlook for long)

    2. 939 kN sounds awesome – almost a match for the current version of the Ariane 5’s Vulcain 2 – but I can’t find any reference to this sea-level thrust for Merlin 1-D. Can you provide a link to your source?

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