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Commercial launch of SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket a success
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: July 14, 2009

A Malaysian satellite rode a Falcon 1 rocket into orbit Monday night, marking the first time the privately-developed booster has successfully launched an operational spacecraft. The 70-foot-tall rocket was making its fifth flight. Three of its four previous launches failed, dooming two small military satellites.

But SpaceX, the California-based company that developed the launcher, scored its second straight success Monday, almost nine months after the Falcon 1 first reached orbit last year.

“We nailed the orbit to well within target parameters, pretty much a bullseye,” Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, told Spaceflight Now.

Musk confirmed Malaysia’s RazakSAT satellite separated from the Falcon 1’s upper stage and is communicating with ground controllers.