Posted: Wed, Dec 8, 2010, 1:53 PM ET (1853 GMT)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully placed a Dragon cargo spacecraft into orbit on Wednesday morning. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:43 am EST (1543 GMT), after a launch attempt about an hour and a half earlier was aborted because of a technical glitch. The Falcon 9 placed into orbit the first Dragon spacecraft, a test of future capsules designed to deliver cargo, and perhaps eventually crews, to the International Space Station. The Dragon will remain in orbit for several hours before reentering and splashing down off the California coast. The launch was the second for the Falcon 9, after it placed a boilerplate Dragon into orbit on the inaugural Falcon 9 launch six months ago.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  CBS News article
•  Aviation Week article
•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  Florida Today article