The Falcon 1 Flight-003 Jumpstart Mission Integration Summary

In 2007, following Demonstration Flight 2 - Falcon 1’s second demonstration mission, SpaceX declared Falcon 1 ready to exit the demonstration program and upgraded the vehicle to operational status. The mission was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US Air Force (USAF) with objectives centered on testing the vehicle in flight, gathering data and retiring technical risk prior to the first operational flight. This flight resulted in retiring significant risks in both the ground and flight systems. A review of the successes and achievements which led to the decision to go operational is presented along with a description of the interim upgrades made to the vehicle in support of subsequent missions. In 2008, the Jumpstart Mission will be the third flight of the Falcon 1 launch vehicle developed by Space Exploration Technologies in Hawthorne, CThere are two primary customers for this mission; one is the Department of Defense’s Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office and the other is ATSB® of Malaysia. A high-level overview of this mission is discussed along with the future plans for the Falcon 1 launch vehicle, including an additional Falcon 1 mission manifested for 2008 and two others in 2009. Additionally, to better service the needs of the small satellite community, SpaceX plans to upgrade to the Falcon 1 launch vehicle. Beginning in 2010, the enhanced Falcon 1 (Falcon 1e, F1e) will become SpaceX’s standard small launch vehicle. An overview of these changes and how they will positively impact the small satellite community are discussed