The so-named Block 5 upgrade took off from the NASA’s Launchpad 39A at Kennedy Space Centre for its debut flight at 2:14am on Saturday Bangladesh time.
Stage-1 of the 2-staged Falcon 9 rocket returned to earth about eight minutes and 45 seconds after take-off. Stage 1 and 2 were separated within 2.5 minutes of the launch.
Within 233 minutes of the launch the stage-2 rockets put Bangladesh’s first communication satellite into the orbit and returned to earth.
The Block-5 Falcon-9 is the most advanced of SpaceX’s rockets. It will eventually be able to make 10 trips to orbit without the need for any maintenance after landings, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said during a pre-launch press conference.
The Marlin engine, which is located on the rocket’s bottom, gives up to eight percent more force during take-off than previous versions.
SpaceX began a project to improve the Falcon-9 hardware according to NASA’s instructions.
The Bangabandhu-1 launch marks the first test of the Block-5, which may eventually carry humans to space for NASA. But the US space agency wants to observe at least seven launches before it agrees to use the rocket system for manned spacecraft.