A report on Grid fin

The Vympel NPO R-77 is a beyond-visual-range missile that uses grid fins. The gray KAB-500 OD guided bomb to its left has conventional "planar" tail fins.
Closeup of MOAB grid fins
Initial design aluminum grid fins on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, undeployed. February 2015.
Grid fins (here folded against the payload fairing) are part of the launch escape system of Soyuz spacecraft.
Grid fins stowed against the base of an SS-20 ballistic missile
Grid fins on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. They guide the rocket's first stage during landing.
First test of grid fins by SpaceX during a Falcon 9 controlled-descent test on 11 February 2015.

Grid fins (or lattice fins) are a type of flight control surface used on rockets and bombs, sometimes in place of more conventional control surfaces, such as planar fins.

- Grid fin
The Vympel NPO R-77 is a beyond-visual-range missile that uses grid fins. The gray KAB-500 OD guided bomb to its left has conventional "planar" tail fins.

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Falcon 9 Flight 20's first stage landing vertically on Landing Zone 1 in December 2015

SpaceX reusable launch system development program

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Privately funding the development of orbital launch systems that can be reused many times, in a manner similar to the reusability of aircraft.

Privately funding the development of orbital launch systems that can be reused many times, in a manner similar to the reusability of aircraft.

Falcon 9 Flight 20's first stage landing vertically on Landing Zone 1 in December 2015
From left to right, Falcon 1, Falcon 9 v1.0, three versions of Falcon 9 v1.1, three versions of Falcon 9 v1.2 (Full Thrust), three versions of Falcon 9 Block 5, Falcon Heavy and Falcon Heavy Block 5. The SpaceX reusable rocket technology is being developed for both Falcon 9 v1.2 and Falcon Heavy.
Falcon 9 booster stage re-entry with grid fins, February 2015 following the launch of the DSCOVR mission
Falcon 9 v1.1 with landing legs attached, in stowed position as the rocket is prepared for launch in its hangar
Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship, in port in January 2015.
Depiction of Falcon 9 landing trajectory for some of the floating-platform recovery tests
Grasshopper rocket performing a 325 meter flight followed by a soft propulsive landing in an attempt to develop technologies for a reusable launch vehicle.
CRS-6 booster landing attempt
Falcon 9 Flight 20's first stage landing viewed from a helicopter, December 22, 2015.
First stage of Falcon 9 Flight 21 descending over the floating landing platform, January 17, 2016, immediately prior to a soft touchdown followed by deflagration of the rocket after a landing leg failed to latch, causing the rocket to tip over.
First stage of Falcon 9 Flight 23 landed on autonomous droneship
Artist depiction by SpaceX of Big Falcon Rocket in flight
SN8 launch at the Boca Chica launch site, firing three Raptors
alt=Photograph of equipment in front of white tents, with a steel nose cone at the back|Starship Mk1's nose cone near construction tents
alt=Photograph of a short steel rocket stage with its fins touching the ground|Starhopper in construction
alt=Photograph of a crane hooking onto a steel vessel body|A crane lifting Starship SN5
alt=Photograph of a steel tank|Starship SN7's tank
alt=Photograph of a spacecraft with a pair of steel flaps on top and bottom|Starship SN9 on the launchpad
alt=Photograph of a worker on an aerial work platform repairing a spacecraft's black heatshield|A worker is examining Starship SN20's ceramic tiles

Hypersonic grid fins were added to the booster test vehicle design beginning on the fifth ocean controlled-descent test flight in 2014 in order to enable precision landing. Arranged in an "X" configuration, the grid fins control the descending rocket's lift vector once the vehicle has returned to the atmosphere to enable a much more precise landing location. Iteration on the design continued into 2017. Larger and more robust grid fins, made from forged titanium and left unpainted, were first tested in June 2017, and has been used on all reusable Block 5 Falcon 9 first stages since May 2018.

A Falcon 9 lifting off from LC-39A carrying Demo-2.

Falcon 9

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Rocket that can carry cargo and humans into Earth orbit, even reaching the International Space Station .

Rocket that can carry cargo and humans into Earth orbit, even reaching the International Space Station .

A Falcon 9 lifting off from LC-39A carrying Demo-2.
A Falcon 9 lifting off from LC-39A carrying Demo-2.
Falcon 9 rocket family; from left to right: Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, Full Thrust, Block 5, and Falcon Heavy.
Falcon 9 Flight 20 historic first-stage landing at CCAFS, Landing Zone 1, on 21 December 2015.
A Falcon 9 v1.0 being launched with a Dragon spacecraft to deliver cargo to the ISS in 2012.
Falcon 9 v1.0 (left) and v1.1 (right) engine configurations.
The launch of the first Falcon 9 v1.1 from SLC-4, Vandenberg AFB (Falcon 9 Flight 6) in September 2013
A close-up of the newer titanium grid fins first flown for the second Iridium NEXT mission in June 2017.
Falcon 9's first stage successfully landing on an ASDS for the first time, following the launch of SpaceX CRS-8 to the ISS.
The first reflight of a Falcon 9, in March 2017
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket delivered the ABS-3A and Eutelsat 115 West B satellites to a supersynchronous transfer orbit, launching from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida in March 2015.

To control the core's descent through the atmosphere, SpaceX uses grid fins that deploy from the vehicle moments before landing.

Launch of the 9th Falcon 9 v1.1 with the SpaceX CRS-5 on 10 January 2015. This rocket was equipped with landing legs and grid fins.

Falcon 9 v1.1

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The second version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle.

The second version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle.

Launch of the 9th Falcon 9 v1.1 with the SpaceX CRS-5 on 10 January 2015. This rocket was equipped with landing legs and grid fins.
Launch of the 9th Falcon 9 v1.1 with the SpaceX CRS-5 on 10 January 2015. This rocket was equipped with landing legs and grid fins.
The launch of the first Falcon 9 v1.1 from SLC-4, Vandenberg AFB (Falcon 9 Flight 6) 29 September 2013.
A Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket launching the SpaceX CRS-3 Dragon spacecraft in April 2014.
Falcon 9 v1.0 (left) and v1.1 (right) engine configurations
From left to right, Falcon 1, Falcon 9 v1.0, three versions of Falcon 9 v1.1, three versions of Falcon 9 v1.2 (Full Thrust), three versions of Falcon 9 Block 5, and two versions of Falcon Heavy.
Falcon 9 Flight 17's first stage attempting a controlled landing on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship following the launch of CRS-6 to the International Space Station. The stage landed hard and tipped over after landing.

As part of SpaceX's efforts to develop a reusable launch system, selected first stages include four extensible landing legs and grid fins to control descent.

Recovery of Falcon 9 first-stage booster after its first landing

Reusable launch vehicle

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A reusable launch vehicle have parts that can be recovered and reflown, while carrying payloads from the surface to outer space.

A reusable launch vehicle have parts that can be recovered and reflown, while carrying payloads from the surface to outer space.

Recovery of Falcon 9 first-stage booster after its first landing
McDonnell Douglas DC-X used vertical takeoff and vertical landing
Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne used horizontal landing after being launched from a carrier airplane
Falcon Heavy side boosters landing during 2018 demonstration mission.

Reused parts may need to enter the atmosphere and navigate through it, so they are often equipped with heat shields, grid fins, and other flight control surfaces.

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Fin

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Thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure.

Thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure.

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Fins are used by aquatic animals, such as this orca, to generate thrust and control the subsequent motion
Caudal fin of a great white shark
Aquatic animals typically use fins for locomotion (1) pectoral fins (paired), (2) pelvic fins (paired), (3) dorsal fin, (4) adipose fin, (5) anal fin, (6) caudal (tail) fin
Comparison between A) the swimming fin of a lobe-finned fish and B) the walking leg of a tetrapod. Bones considered to correspond with each other have the same color.
In a parallel but independent evolution, the ancient reptile Ichthyosaurus communis developed fins (or flippers) very similar to fish (or dolphins)
In the 1990s the CIA built a robotic catfish called Charlie to test the feasibility of unmanned underwater vehicles

These are typically planar and shaped like small wings, although grid fins are sometimes used.

An export variant of the missile

3M-54 Kalibr

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Family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau (OKB-8).

Family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau (OKB-8).

An export variant of the missile
3M-54E mockup
3M-14E mockup
91RE1 mockup
91RTE2 mockup
A Club-K erected in a standard shipping container
Indian Navy frigate firing the Club missile
Map of Kalibr operators

91RE1 A submarine-launched anti-submarine variant, it consists of two stages, one solid booster with four grid fins and one anti-submarine light torpedo. Its basic length is 7.65 m, it has a range of 50 km. It can reach supersonic speed. The torpedo has a warhead weight of 76 kg. It is similar to the American ASROC/SUBROC missile/torpedo system. It follows a ballistic path on the surface, with a speed of Mach 2.5.

Mockup at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in late 1967

N1 (rocket)

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Super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to deliver payloads beyond low Earth orbit.

Super heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to deliver payloads beyond low Earth orbit.

Mockup at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in late 1967
N-1/L3 lunar mission profile
N1 imaged by US KH-8 Gambit reconnaissance satellite, 19 September 1968
Comparison of super heavy-lift launch vehicles. Masses listed are the maximum payload to low Earth orbit in metric tons.
Scheme of the rocket stages (in Russian)
A comparison of the U.S. Saturn V rocket (left) with the Soviet N1/L3. Note: human at bottom illustrates scale

The Block A also included four grid fins, which were later used on Soviet air-to-air missile designs.

R-77

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Russian active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile.

Russian active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile.

Seeker Head of Vympel R-77 at 2009 MAKS Airshow
R-77 variants: R-77 (RVV-AE), R-77PD (RVV-PD), RVV-ZRK, K-77M (izdeliye 180), K-77ME (izdeliyе 180-BD)
Map with R-77 operators in blue

The aerodynamics are novel, combining vestigial cruciform wings with grid fins used as tail control surfaces (similar devices are used on the OTR-23 Oka, and USAF uses them on MOAB).

I-Space (Chinese company)

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Chinese private space technology development and space launch company based in Beijing, founded in October 2016.

Chinese private space technology development and space launch company based in Beijing, founded in October 2016.

The first stage was equipped with grid fins.

Long March 2C

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Chinese orbital launch vehicle, part of the Long March 2 rocket family.

Chinese orbital launch vehicle, part of the Long March 2 rocket family.

Aerodynamic grid fins were added on the Long March 2C in 2019 to help guide falling stages away from populated areas.