Falcon 1

Falcon 1 was a two-stage small-lift orbital launch vehicle built and operated by SpaceX from 2006 to 2009. Both stages burned liquid oxygen and RP-1 kerosene: the first stage was powered by a single pump-fed Merlin engine and the second stage by a pressure-fed Kestrel vacuum engine. The rocket was launched five times from Omelek Island in the Marshall Islands. The first three attempts failed, including the maiden flight of March 24, 2006, which ended less than a minute after liftoff because of a fuel line leak and fire. On September 28, 2008, the fourth flight made Falcon 1 the first privately developed fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to reach orbit. The fifth and final flight, on July 14, 2009, delivered the Malaysian RazakSAT satellite on SpaceX's first commercial launch. The company announced an enhanced Falcon 1e variant, but retired the Falcon 1 in favor of the Falcon 9 v1.0, and the development cost of about 90 to 100 million US dollars was privately funded.