Posted: Wed, Mar 22, 2006, 6:59 AM ET (1159 GMT)
SpaceX has set the inaugural launch of its Falcon 1 rocket for Thursday after completing a static fire test earlier this week. In a brief statement posted on the company's web site, SpaceX announced that the launch was scheduled for 4 pm EST (2100 GMT) Thursday from Omelek Island, part of Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific. The announcement came after the company conducted a "great" static fire test Tuesday, firing the rocket's first stage engine for nearly three seconds while held down on the pad. The launch of the low-cost small launch vehicle has been delayed several times, most recently by a small leak in the fuel tank of the rocket's second stage.
