Discover how the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is driven by the revolutionary Merlin 1D engine with unmatched thrust-to-weight ratio.

The Falcon 9 first-stage rocket has nine Merlin 1D rocket engines. It normally uses all of them to get its payload into orbit, but so far, SpaceX has only used one engine to perform the landing.

The nine liquid-fuel Merlin 1D engines in the first stage provided 55 percent more thrust at sea level than their predecessor, the Merlin 1C, for a total of 1.3 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.

The rocket is powered by a Falcon 9 rocket first stage tank and a Merlin 1D engine; it sits on four steel and aluminum landing legs. In the video of the launch and landing, the 10-story high ...

Sunday’s launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif., was the first flight of the upgraded Falcon 9 v.1.1 equipped with the new Merlin 1D engine, which delivers more thrust and ...