Falcon 9R Dev

Grasshopper 2

Mission Profile

The Falcon 9R Dev (Grasshopper 2) was a single-stage American reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrator in the Falcon 9 family, a full-scale Falcon 9 first stage used to test the vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) techniques that would enable booster recovery. Standing 32.3 m tall with a 3.7 m diameter, it generated 480 kN of thrust from a single Merlin 1D engine. First flying in April 2014, the Falcon 9R Dev successfully demonstrated increasingly complex VTVL manoeuvres at SpaceX's McGregor test facility before the programme transitioned to actual mission landings.