Space Exploration Technologies Corp. conducted the first three-engine firing of its Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket at its Texas Test Facility outside McGregor, on March 8, 2008. At full power, the engines generated more than 270,000 pounds of force. They consumed 1,050 lbs of fuel and liquid oxygen per second. This three-engine test sets the record as the most powerful test yet on the 235-foot tall test stand. A total of nine Merlin 1C engines will power the Falcon 9 rocket. The test series continues with the addition of two engines for a total of five, then finally the full complement of nine engines. With all engines firing, the Falcon 9 can generate over one million pounds of thrust in vacuum—that’s 4x the maximum thrust of a 747 aircraft.
The Merlin 1C next generation liquid fueled rocket booster engine is among the highest performing gas generator cycle kerosene engines ever built and is on par with the Saturn V F-1 engine. The Merlin 1C is the first new American booster engine in a decade and only the second American booster engine since the development of the Space Shuttle Main Engine thirty years ago. The first Falcon 9 remains on-schedule for delivery to the SpaceX launch site at Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral, Florida, by the end of 2008—McGregor, Texas
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