Falcon 9 prototypes

The Falcon 9 prototypes were SpaceX experimental test rockets built to prove vertical takeoff and vertical landing, the technology behind the reusable first stages of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. The project was privately funded and two vehicles were built and flown from the ground. Grasshopper, 32 metres tall with a Falcon 9 first-stage tank and a single Merlin 1D engine, made eight successful test flights from McGregor, Texas between September 2012 and October 2013, the last reaching 744 metres. The larger Falcon 9 Reusable Development Vehicle, F9R Dev1, built on a Falcon 9 v1.1 tank with retractable landing legs, flew five times in 2014 before it was lost on 22 August 2014. A third vehicle, F9R Dev2, was discontinued in February 2015 without flying. The tests led to the first successful booster landing on 21 December 2015.