SpaceX Merlin
Videos
Merlin is a family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX for use on its Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. Merlin engines use RP-1 and liquid oxygen as rocket propellants in a gas-generator power cycle. The Merlin engine was originally designed for sea recovery and reuse, but since 2016 the entire Falcon 9 booster is recovered for reuse by landing vertically on a landing pad using one of its nine Merlin engines.
Test firing of the Merlin 1D at SpaceX’s McGregor test stand
Merlin 1C under construction at SpaceX
Merlin 1C Vacuum engine at Hawthorne factory in 2008
Falcon 1
Videos
Falcon 1 was a small-lift launch vehicle that was operated from 2006 to 2009 by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. On 28 September 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to go into orbit around the Earth.
Falcon 1 rocket
First-stage view of the Merlin engine.
Falcon 1 first flight attempt with NASA partnership cargo at Omelek Island launchpad
The second-stage Kestrel engine glows red-hot during Falcon 1's fourth launch and first successful orbital flight.