Getting to space is getting much easier.
SpaceX’s Merlin 1D: Built to enable human space exploration
[Via SpaceFlight Insider]
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX ) Falcon 9 rocket V1.1 gets part of its name from the fact that the booster uses nine Merlin 1D engines in its first stage. With the aerospace firm planning on conducting a pad abort test of the crew rated version of their Dragon spacecraft (V2) on May 6, SpaceFlight Insider and its partner, the Florida Institute of Technology provide you with this review of these engines – as well as the missions that they were built for.
SpaceX’s Director of Mission Assurance, Hans Koenigsmann, told SpaceFlight Insider that the Merlin family of engines was designed from the outset to be used on crewed missions.
“Actually, the 1D and the Falcon 9 was always designed to be crew-rated; to me, this always seemed a little optimistic (laughs), but, as I said earlier, the goal…
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A Man With A Ph.D. 