2009 Upper Deck : Baseball Series One



2009 Upper Deck Baseball Series One was released on February 3, 2009. The odds of finding a "2008 Historic Firsts" card are approximately 1:4 hobby packs, 1:6 retail packs, and 1:10 blaster packs. The ten-card subset includes the first successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 1 vehicle on September 28, 2008. Falcon 1 is the first privately developed, fully liquid-fueled rocket to reach Earth orbit.

2009 Upper Deck Baseball HF-5 - First Privately Developed Space Launch

The card title erroneously describes the event as the "First Privately Developed Space Launch." The first privately developed orbital vehicle is the Northrop Grumman Pegasus Rocket, first launched on April 5, 1990. The air-launched three-stage solid-propellant rocket was developed Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC).

2009 Upper Deck Baseball HF-5 - First Privately Developed Space Launch

"The fourth time was evidently the charm for the SpaceX Falcon I spacecraft when on September 28, 2008, it became the first privately developed liquid-fuel rocket to successfully orbit the earth. Following three earlier launch efforts, the 70-foot, two-stage vehicle roared into space, delivering a 364 lb. payload safely into low-earth orbit after a picture-perfect liftoff from an Army base on Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll, some 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. Founded in 2002 by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, SpaceX – an abbreviation for Space Exploration Technologies Corporation – is already working on larger, more powerful rockets including the 180-foot Falcon 9 vehicles, which are designed for future manned space flight."


2008 Historic Firsts
HF-1 First African-American Elected to U.S. Presidency Barack Obama
HF-2 First Athlete to Win Eight Gold Medals Michael Phelps
HF-3 First World Series Game to Be Continued Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays
HF-4 First Female Candidate on GOP's Presidential Ticket Sarah Palin
HF-5 First Privately Developed Space Launch SpaceX Falcon 1
HF-6 First Indian Players to Sign MLB Contracts Rinku Singh, Dinesh Patel
HF-7 First Asian-American MLB Manager is Named Don Wakamatsu
HF-8 First Collector to Complete Historic Yankee Stadium Legacy Set Tommy Baxter
HF-9 First NHL Winter Classic Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins
HF-10 First Female to be Promoted to U.S. Four-Star General Ann Dunwoody
HF-11 Introducing The First Puppy Bo