Falcon 9 and the smaller Falcon 1 rockets — are named after the fictional “Millennium Falcon” spaceship from the “Star Wars” movies. The number 9 in Falcon “9” indicates the number of Merlin engines in the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket as depicted in the next image.
Elon Musk has publicly stated his love for Star Wars, many times.
Musk was just 5 years old when the first Star Wars movie opened in theaters, introducing Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the gang to the world.
“Star Wars was actually quite impactful because it was the first movie I ever saw,” Musk told actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a 2014 interview. It made enough of an impression to still be his sci-fi favorite to this day.
