![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/block5.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe first Block 5 Falcon 9 completed a static fire test at Launch Complex 39A on Friday evening, although SpaceX appeared to waiting on the results of a data review before confirming the path to launch. On Monday, SpaceX confirmed they were re-scheduling the launch to May 10. The vehicle \u2013 notably including core 1046, the first Block 5 first stage \u2013 will launch the Bangabandhu-1 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). This mission will be the first for 39A since the Falcon Heavy demo flight on February 6, 2018.\n<\/p>\n
The star of the show is the new, unflown first stage core 1046, which is the first \u201cBlock 5\u201d Falcon 9 first stage.<\/p>\n
Block 5 is the final major upgrade to the Falcon 9, the culmination of over 10 years of development and evolution of SpaceX\u2019s workhorse rocket.<\/p>\n
Block 5 has numerous advantages over past versions of the Falcon 9, notably including higher thrust engines, improved and more resilient recovery hardware, and the ability to be reflown within 48 hours of landing after a previous mission. Block 5 was also designed to meet \u2013 and in some cases exceed \u2013 NASA\u2019s strict Commercial Crew Program requirements, which SpaceX must follow in order to be able to fly NASA astronauts, expected to begin in early 2019.<\/p>\n
Block 5 cores are also expected to be reused 10 times before undergoing any major refurbishment, and SpaceX hopes to fly each booster up to 100 times before it is retired.<\/p>\n
Core 1046 was first seen traveling from SpaceX\u2019s HQ in Hawthorne, California to their test site in McGregor, Texas. The core was later seen on the first stage test stand at McGregor on February 26, 2018, undergoing preparations for its future static fire tests.<\/p>\n
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Core 1046, the first Block 5 booster, on the test stand at SpaceX\u2019s McGregor test facility. (Credit: User ScaryDare on NSF L2.)<\/p>\n
Core 1046 performed three very short \u201cburst\u201d static fires on the test stand from March 11-13 \u2013 one each day \u2013 before performing a full duration static fire on the night of March 15. After the static fire tests, the booster was then transported from SpaceX\u2019s McGregor test facility to the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) at the base of Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>\n
Core 1046 and its second stage are currently undergoing preparations on LC-39A for the on-pad static fire test \u2013 one of the last major hurdles before launch.<\/p>\n
NASA mission patches (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n All static fire tests since the Amos-6 on-pad anomaly in 2016 have been without the rocket\u2019s payload and the fairing, to ensure minimal risk for the customer\u2019s payload should something go wrong during the test.<\/p>\n Static fire of a Falcon 9 on Launch Complex 39A. Credit: SpaceX<\/p>\n The static fire test consists of a simulation of the entire launch countdown, including rolling the vehicle \u2013 minus its payload \u2013 out of the HIF and raising it vertical on the launch pad.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The rocket is powered up, and the tanks on both stages are filled with propellant. The test ends with a 3.5 or 7 second firing of the 9 Merlin 1D engines on the first stage, depending on whether or not the vehicle contains a flight-proven \u2013 or already flown \u2013 first stage.<\/p>\n After the firing is complete, the fuel tanks on both stages are drained and the vehicle is transported back into the HIF for integration of the payload.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, engineers and flight controllers at SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, CA and SpaceX Launch & Landing Control just outside of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station perform a quick analysis \u2013 appropriately referred to as a \u201cquick look\u201d \u2013 of the test data and soon after announce whether or not the test was a success on Twitter.<\/p>\n Interestingly, SpaceX took longer than usual to tweet confirmation of the test and noted a data review was still ongoing ahead of confirming the launch date.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/falcon9.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSee Also<\/h4>\n
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