Kestrel
SpaceX Kestrel is a pressure-fed LOX/RP-1 upper-stage liquid rocket engine family comprising the original Kestrel and Kestrel 2 configurations. It powered Falcon 1’s second stage and was developed as a separate upper-stage engine from the Merlin first-stage line; the retired propulsion identity remains distinct from Merlin variants and from Falcon 1 vehicle records.
Identity
- Aliases
- KestrelSpaceX KestrelKestrel engineKestrel 2
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- model
- Kind
- liquid-rocket-engine
- Name
- Kestrel
- Status
- retired
Details
- Description
- SpaceX Kestrel is a pressure-fed LOX/RP-1 upper-stage liquid rocket engine family comprising the original Kestrel and Kestrel 2 configurations. It powered Falcon 1’s second stage and was developed as a separate upper-stage engine from the Merlin first-stage line; the retired propulsion identity remains distinct from Merlin variants and from Falcon 1 vehicle records.
- Developers
- Manufacturers
- Propellants
- liquid oxygenRP-1
- Rocket Specs
- Cycle
- pressure-fed
- Restartable
- Yes
- Vacuum Specific Impulse S
- 317
- Vacuum Thrust Kn
- 30.7
Links
- Official Url
- https://www.spacex.com/launches/razaksat
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 29, 2026 at 08:45:09 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 23, 2026 at 09:40:14 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-07-29
- Note
- Supports the legacy vehicle installation and the narrow canonical identity used for migration.
- Publisher
- Official vehicle or program source
- Title
- Falcon 1 official vehicle reference
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- NASA Falcon 1/1e environmental assessment identifies the Falcon 1 second-stage Kestrel engine and the vehicle LOX/RP-1 propellant system; stored 30.7 kN is a conversion of the guide 6.9k lbf vacuum thrust.
- Publisher
- NASA
- Title
- Final Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 Environmental Assessment
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- NASA technical report identifies the Falcon 1E second stage as a Kestrel engine, independently supporting the exact vehicle application.
- Publisher
- NASA
- Title
- Horizontal Launch: An Overview of the Falcon 1E Launch Vehicle
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- SpaceX Falcon 1 User Guide identifies the common Stage 2 engine as Kestrel 2, with LOX/kerosene propellant, 6.9k lbf vacuum thrust, 317 s vacuum specific impulse, pressure-fed feed, and restart capability.
- Publisher
- SpaceX
- Title
- Falcon 1 User Guide Rev 7