The Falcon 9 v1.0 first stage was used on the first five Falcon 9 launches, and powered by nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines arranged in a 3x3 pattern.
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In 2011 SpaceX began a formal and funded development program—the SpaceX reusable launch system development program—with the objective of designing reusable first and second stages utilizing propulsive return of the stages to the launch pad.
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CASSIOPE is a satellite project of the Canadian Space Agency, launched on September 29, 2013 on the first flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle.
The Falcon 9-R, a reusable variant of the Falcon 9 family, is being developed using systems and software technology being developed as part of the SpaceX reusable launch system development program by SpaceX to facilitate rapid reusability of both the first and second stages.
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First use of the upgraded Merlin 1D engines, generating approximately 56 percent more sea-level thrust than the Merlin 1C engines used on all previous Falcon 9 vehicles.
With increased use of the Florida leased launch pad following the introduction of Falcon 9 v1.1 in the fall of 2013, the Air Force launch support operations at the Cape are planning for a total of 21 launches in 2014, a fifty percent increase over the 2013 launch rate.
The spacecraft was launched on January 6, 2014, by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle.