NASA WFF Logo, NASA Wallops Flight Facility
MPL Capability Catalog

Mission Planning Lab

Falcon

Falcon

Description

The Falcon Program is a joint NASA and DARPA project which is developing the next generation of Small Launch Vehicle, or SLV. The SLV will be capable of lifting approximately 1000 lbs to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and is expected to be used for the delivery of small satellites at a price point of $5-7M per launch vehicle, including range costs.

In addition to providing a small lift capability, the Falcon class vehicle is designed for Rapid Response. That is, for tactical satellite deployment for military or scientific uses, the vehicle can be launch ready within only a few days notice. Uses for such a system are clearly in NASA's interest. Whether the mission is deploying a satellite critical to the success of our nation's defense, Emergency Re-supply of the International Space Station, or testing a new launch system modification, the Falcon Program and the Wallops Research Range are the perfect fit.

Video

This video is a Satellite Tool Kit (STK) representation of a Minotaur launched from the Wallops Flight Facility. Shown is the launch with radar and telemetry tracking, the trajectory of the vehicle, and stage events. The time step of this video is 3.0 seconds.

WFF launch: w_falcon.avi (109.4 Mb).

Screenshots

Listed below are various screenshots from the STK scenario of this Falcon launch.

Coverage Coverage(additional) Middle Trajectory View End Trajectory View 2d Ground View

Downloads

The AGI Viewer is required in order to view a VDF file type. Using this viewer allows for user interactivity (zoom, pan and adjusting time step). Download the free AGI Viewer at www.stk.com (68.5 Mb).

VDF of WFF launch: w_falcon.vdf (257 kb).

NASA Logo - nasa.gov