page_title: Falcon 9 flight 20
section_title: New launch vehicle
hierarchical_section_title: Falcon 9 flight 20 / New launch vehicle
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Raketa Falcon 9 v1.1 FT před provedením úspěšného experimentální přistání v LZ-1 na mysu Canaveral 22. prosince 2015. English: First stage of a Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket lands on the Landing Zone 1 after launching 11 Orbcomm OG-2 telecommunication satellites to Low Earth orbit. Suomi: Falcon 9 Full Thrust -raketin ensimmäinen vaihe laskeutuu Landing Zone 1 -laskeutumisalustalle laukaistuaan 11 Orbcomm OG-2 -tietoliikennesatelliittia Maan matalalle kiertoradalle.
context_page_description: Falcon 9 flight 20 was a Falcon 9 space launch that occurred on 22 December 2015 at 01:29 UTC. It was the first time that the first stage of an orbital rocket made a successful return and vertical landing.
  The successful landing of the first stage at Landing Zone 1, near the launch site, was the result of a five-year technology development program to develop a reusable launch system and came on a flight test that followed the primary launch mission. Following separation of the second stage, SpaceX conducted the eighth of its controlled booster descent tests of the spent first stage, the first in which the descent target location was on land, and also the first ever successful landing.
  Prior to this flight, SpaceX's two previous attempts at a vertical landing and booster recovery ended in failure to recover the rocket. The success of flight 20 marked a significant milestone en route to the company's goal of creating a reusable rocket system that would significantly reduce the cost of launching payloads into orbit.
  Falcon 9 flight 20 was the first launch of the substantially upgraded Falcon 9 Full Thrust version of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
context_section_description: The Falcon 9 Full Thrust launch vehicle used on flight 20 had a number of significant modifications from the previous Falcon 9 v1.1 vehicle.  These included:
  increased second stage tank length and propellant volume
  larger Merlin 1D vacuum engine nozzle
  larger and stronger interstage with revised stage-separation mechanism
  revised grid fin design to support the continuation of the Falcon 9 booster controlled-descent and landing tests, and ultimately, the operational Reusable Falcon 9 launch system
  upgraded structure in the landing legs, also to support the reusable development program and objectives
  upgraded first stage structure and octaweb engine support structure
  denser liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants through the use of subcooling, refrigeration below the typical temperature of previous Falcon 9 launch conditions.
  first stage booster can reach low Earth orbit as a single stage if not carrying the upper stage and a heavy satellite.
caption: First stage of Falcon 9 flight 20 landing on a ground pad in December 2015
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