# Falcon 9 Full Thrust
**Falcon 9 Full Thrust**, also called [Falcon 9](https://www.edgepedia.org/falcon-9) v1.2 or Block 3, is the third major version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 two-stage orbital launch vehicle, first flown on December 21, 2015. It introduced densified super-chilled propellant and uprated Merlin 1D engines that gave roughly 30 percent more lift capability than the preceding Falcon 9 v1.1, and its maiden flight produced the first controlled vertical landing of an orbital rocket's first stage.[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) • [2](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-landing-team-gets-1st-ever-neil-armstrong-space-prize)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First flight | December 21, 2015, Orbcomm OG2 mission with 11 satellites; flight 20 of the Falcon 9 program[2](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-landing-team-gets-1st-ever-neil-armstrong-space-prize) |
| Performance gain | About 30 percent more capability than Falcon 9 v1.1, from uprated Merlin 1D engines, slightly larger tanks, and super-cooled densified propellant[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) |
| First-stage thrust | Nine Merlin 1D engines, 7,605 kN (1,710,000 lbf) at sea level; second stage one Merlin Vacuum at 981 kN[3](https://www.spacex.com/assets/media/falcon-users-guide-2025-05-09.pdf) |
| Payload to LEO | About 22,800 kg with the booster expended; about 15,600 kg with the booster recovered[4](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20220002635/downloads/NASA_LV_Reuse_final_1.pdf?attachment=true) |
| Landing milestones | First land landing December 21, 2015; first droneship landing April 8, 2016; first reflight of a flown stage March 30, 2017 (SES-10)[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) |
| Successors | Block 4 (first flown August 14, 2017) and Block 5 (first flown spring 2018), both Full Thrust-family variants[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) |
| Advertised price | $62 million for a standard Falcon 9 launch at the time of Block 5's debut[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) |
## Design and upgrades
The Full Thrust configuration grew out of upgrade plans [Elon Musk](https://www.edgepedia.org/elon-musk) made official on March 1, 2015: a 15 percent increase in thrust, the use of "deep cryogenic" or densified liquid oxygen, and a 10 percent increase in second-stage tank volume, all intended to allow first-stage landings on geostationary transfer missions.[5](https://sma.nasa.gov/LaunchVehicle/assets/spacex-falcon-9-v1.2-data-sheet.pdf) SpaceX initially called the improved rocket "Falcon 9 v1.1 Full Thrust" and later "Falcon 9 v1.2"; a summer 2015 company presentation identified it as "Falcon 9 Upgrade".[5](https://sma.nasa.gov/LaunchVehicle/assets/spacex-falcon-9-v1.2-data-sheet.pdf)
The vehicle is 70 m tall with a 3.66 m diameter, powered by liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1). Its first stage carries nine Merlin 1D gas-generator engines in an octagonal pattern, each producing up to 845 kN (190,000 lbf) at sea level, and its second stage a single Merlin Vacuum engine with a fixed 165:1 expansion nozzle.[3](https://www.spacex.com/assets/media/falcon-users-guide-2025-05-09.pdf) Stage and fairing separation are pneumatic rather than pyrotechnic, which allows the separation hardware to be tested on the ground and produces a low-shock environment for payloads.[3](https://www.spacex.com/assets/media/falcon-users-guide-2025-05-09.pdf) After engine ignition, a hold-before-release system verifies that all engines reach full-thrust performance before the rocket is released for flight, and an Autonomous Flight Termination System destroys the vehicle automatically if it drifts off course.[6](https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-crew-program-press-kit/)
Recovery hardware defined the version. Upgraded grid fins steer the booster during its return through the atmosphere, and four carbon-fiber landing legs deploy for touchdown.[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) • [6](https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-crew-program-press-kit/) On the maiden flight, the booster's final descent ended with a 32-second landing burn on the center engine alone, about 9 minutes after liftoff.[5](https://sma.nasa.gov/LaunchVehicle/assets/spacex-falcon-9-v1.2-data-sheet.pdf)
## Debut and first landing
The version debuted six months after the program's first failure. On June 28, 2015, a Falcon 9 carrying NASA cargo to the [International Space Station](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-space-station) broke up about 150 seconds into flight, losing a Dragon spacecraft with cargo valued at more than $100 million. The December return-to-flight vehicle was the first Full Thrust, or Block 3, booster, and SpaceX paired the new rocket's debut with its first attempt to return a stage to a vertical landing on the Florida coast.[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/)
The launch placed 11 Orbcomm communications satellites in orbit, and the first stage returned from an altitude of about 125 miles to touch down at Landing Zone 1 at [Cape Canaveral](https://www.edgepedia.org/cape-canaveral) about 10 minutes after liftoff. It was the first time an orbital-class rocket delivered a payload and returned for a controlled vertical landing.[7](https://time.com/4158330/space-spacex-satellites-rocket-falcon-9/) • [2](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-landing-team-gets-1st-ever-neil-armstrong-space-prize) Musk told reporters afterward that he had not been confident the landing would succeed.[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/)
## Reuse milestones
Three firsts followed in quick succession, all on Full Thrust boosters. On April 8, 2016, a first stage landed on a [SpaceX drone ship](https://www.edgepedia.org/autonomous-spaceport-drone-ship) in the [Atlantic Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-ocean), the first such touchdown at sea.[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) On March 30, 2017, the SES-10 mission re-flew a previously flown first stage for the first time.[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) In December 2017, NASA approved use of a previously flown booster for the SpX-13 cargo mission, the agency's first flight on a used booster, after a review process in which NASA evaluates inspection results and refurbishment progress for each candidate booster.[8](https://oig.nasa.gov/docs/IG-18-016.pdf)
Reuse carries a performance cost: landing propellant, legs, and grid fins reduce payload. NASA's reuse assessment puts Falcon 9 payload to low Earth orbit at about 22,800 kg when the booster is expended and about 15,600 kg when it is recovered, with estimated average flight costs of roughly $65 million for a new booster and $50 million for a reused one.[4](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20220002635/downloads/NASA_LV_Reuse_final_1.pdf?attachment=true)
## Setback and successors
In September 2016, a Falcon 9 was lost during a launch pad test, a setback that led competitors to question the company's reliability. The Block 5 variant later added new helium tanks designed not to be susceptible to the pooling of frozen liquid oxygen and friction implicated in that 2016 explosion, along with a permanent fix for turbine wheel cracks in the Merlin turbopump, changes made to meet NASA human-rating standards.[9](https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/11/spacex-debuts-an-improved-human-rated-model-of-the-falcon-9-rocket/)
SpaceX flew the transitional Block 4, which included engine thrust improvements, beginning August 14, 2017, and announced Block 5 in 2017 as the final major version of the Falcon 9.[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) Block 5, first flown in spring 2018, increased sea-level thrust by about 8 percent to roughly 190,000 lbf per engine, and Musk described its first stage as designed for 10 flights with no scheduled refurbishment and up to 100 missions with moderate maintenance.[9](https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/11/spacex-debuts-an-improved-human-rated-model-of-the-falcon-9-rocket/) NASA required seven successful Block 5 flights before flying astronauts on the rocket.[9](https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/11/spacex-debuts-an-improved-human-rated-model-of-the-falcon-9-rocket/)
## Impact
The Block 3 Full Thrust version is credited with putting SpaceX on top of the commercial satellite launch business against Russian, Chinese, and European state-run providers, and its added performance allowed SpaceX to begin launching heavier payloads for the US military.[1](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/) The landing technique it demonstrated became routine: SpaceX has since recovered boosters more than 650 times during orbital missions, and in 2025 the Falcon 9 flew 165 missions, about half the global total, all successful.[2](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-landing-team-gets-1st-ever-neil-armstrong-space-prize) The Air Force certified Falcon 9 for national-security missions, and the vehicle now carries all of SpaceX's crewed missions to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.[10](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/11/bezos-musk-billionaire-space-race/688690/) • [6](https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-crew-program-press-kit/)
## References
1. [Block 5 rocket launch marks the end of the beginning for SpaceX, Ars Technica (Eric Berger, May 3, 2018)](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/block-5-rocket-launch-marks-the-end-of-the-beginning-for-spacex/)
2. [SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket-landing team gets 1st-ever Neil Armstrong Space Prize, Space.com](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-landing-team-gets-1st-ever-neil-armstrong-space-prize)
3. [Falcon Payload User's Guide, SpaceX (May 2025)](https://www.spacex.com/assets/media/falcon-users-guide-2025-05-09.pdf)
4. [Launch Vehicle Reusability in NASA, NASA Technical Reports Server](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20220002635/downloads/NASA_LV_Reuse_final_1.pdf?attachment=true)
5. [SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.2 Data Sheet, NASA Spaceflight Program and History Office](https://sma.nasa.gov/LaunchVehicle/assets/spacex-falcon-9-v1.2-data-sheet.pdf)
6. [Commercial Crew Program Press Kit, NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-crew-program-press-kit/)
7. [SpaceX Launches Satellites, Lands Rocket and Makes History, Time (December 22, 2015)](https://time.com/4158330/space-spacex-satellites-rocket-falcon-9/)
8. [NASA Office of Inspector General, Final Report IG-18-016](https://oig.nasa.gov/docs/IG-18-016.pdf)
9. [SpaceX debuts new model of the Falcon 9 rocket designed for astronauts, Spaceflight Now (May 11, 2018)](https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/11/spacex-debuts-an-improved-human-rated-model-of-the-falcon-9-rocket/)
10. [Choose Your Overlord, The Atlantic (November 2026)](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/11/bezos-musk-billionaire-space-race/688690/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Spaceflight › Launch systems and rocketry › Launch vehicles › Reusable launch systems › Falcon family recovery and reflight*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license