spacetoday.net: SpaceX Falcon 1 launch a success

Posted: Mon, Sep 29, 2008, 2:08 PM ET (1808 GMT)
Falcon 1 launch on Flight 4 (SpaceX)

After three failed launches since 2006, SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket successfully placed a payload in orbit Sunday night. The Falcon 1 rocket lifted off from Omelek Island, part of Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, at 7:15 pm EDT (2315 GMT) Sunday. The second stage, carrying a payload mass simulator that was designed to remain attached to the stage, achieved orbit about 10 minutes later. The stage is in an elliptical orbit of 500 by 700 kilometers with an inclination of 9.2 degrees, which the company said was exactly as planned. The launch took place less than two months after the previous attempt, which failed to reach orbit when the rocket's two stages reconnected after stage separation due to residual thrust from the first stage engine. The launch had been highly anticipated because of the company's promise to provide low-cost launch services, as well as its plans to develop more powerful rockets capable of carrying cargo and crewed spacecraft to the International Space Station. The next Falcon 1 launch, of the Malaysian remote sensing satellite RazakSAT, is scheduled for early next year.