Family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX for use on its Falcon 1 launch vehicles
SpaceX Kestrel
SpaceX Kestrel
Country of origin
United States
First flight
2006
Last flight
2009
Designer
Tom Mueller
Manufacturer
SpaceX
Application
Upper stage boost
Liquid-fuel engine
Propellant
LOX / RP-1
Cycle
Pressure fed
Performance
Thrust, vacuum
28 kN (2.9 tf)
Thrust-to-weight ratio
65
Chamber pressure
9.3 bar (135 psi)
Specific impulse, vacuum
317 seconds (3.11 km/s)
Dimensions
Dry weight
52 kg (115 lb)
References
References
[1][2][3]
Kestrel engine test firing.
The SpaceX Kestrel was an LOX/RP-1 pressure-fed rocket engine. The Kestrel engine was developed in the 2000s by SpaceX for upper stage use on the Falcon 1 rocket. Kestrel is no longer being manufactured; the last flight of Falcon 1 was in 2009.
Kestrel was built around the same pintle architecture as the SpaceX Merlin engine but does not have a turbopump and is fed only by tank pressure.
Kestrel was ablatively cooled in the chamber and throat and radiatively cooled in the nozzle, which was fabricated from a high strength niobium alloy. As a metal, niobium is highly resistant to cracking compared to carbon-carbon. According to SpaceX, an impact from orbital debris or during stage separation might dent the metal but have no meaningful effect on engine performance.[4] Helium pressurant efficiency is substantially increased via a titanium heat exchanger on the ablative/niobium boundary.[5]
Thrust vector control is provided by electro-mechanical actuators on the engine dome for pitch and yaw. Roll control (and attitude control during coast phases) is provided by helium cold gas thrusters.
A TEA-TEB pyrophoric ignition system is used to provide multiple restart capability on the upper stage. In a multi-manifested mission, this design would allow for drop off at different altitudes and inclinations.
^"Falcon 1 Users Guide" (PDF). SpaceX. 2008-09-28. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2008.
^
spachelaunchreport.com - falcon
^astronautix Archived 2013-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
^Greg Zsidisin (23 March 2007). "SpaceX Confirms Stage Bump On Demoflight 2". Space Daily. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
^"Falcon 1 Flight Three Press Kit" (PDF). SpaceX. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
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