Grasshopper

SpaceX Grasshopper Grasshopper VTVL Test Vehicle

Mission Profile

The Grasshopper (SpaceX Grasshopper, Grasshopper VTVL Test Vehicle) was a single-stage American reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrator in the Falcon 9 family, built using a Falcon 9 v1.0 first stage with a single Merlin 1D engine and steel landing legs. Standing 32.3 m tall with a 3.7 m diameter, it generated 480 kN of thrust. First flying in September 2012, the Grasshopper conducted a series of increasingly ambitious vertical takeoff and vertical landing hop tests at SpaceX's McGregor, Texas test site, proving the fundamental VTVL concept that would later enable Falcon 9 booster landings.