F9 Block 5 już znajduje się w miejscu testów firmy McGregor w Teksasie.
Ocenia się , że może być użyty aż kilkanaście razy do wynoszenia ładunków.
SpaceX's Long-Awaited Falcon 9 'Block 5' Heads to Texas for TestingBy Mike Killian February 19th, 2018
The first Block 5 variant of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, their final variant of the booster, was seen traveling on I-8 in Yuma, AZ this weekend en route to the company’s testing grounds in McGregor, TX. Photo Courtesy: Alison Morgan via u/tvgenius on Reddit (used with permission)SpaceX’s long awaited first “Block 5” variant of their workhorse Falcon 9 rocket was seen making its way to the company’s testing grounds in McGregor, Texas this weekend, after being spotted by Alison Morgan and shared on Reddit by friend u/tvgenius heading eastbound on Interstate-8 in Yuma, Arizona.
Block 5 is a big deal because it represents the culmination of years of development on the Falcon 9. It’s SpaceX’s last significant update to the booster, and will incorporate many changes to allow SpaceX to refurbish and reuse the rockets much faster, and fly more missions with a single booster, all while keeping costs down.
But SpaceX has been rather quiet as to what upgrades the Block 5 DOES incorporate, so specific details are hard to come by. What we do know, is the rocket’s Merlin engines have been redesigned to provide more power and allow for up to a dozen flights per booster, instead of 2 or 3 re-flights which the current Falcon 9 “Block 4” is capable of. Not only will they improve performance, but reliability and manufacturability as well. (...)
http://www.americaspace.com/2018/02/19/spacexs-long-awaited-falcon-9-block-5-heads-to-texas-for-testing/