Falcon reaches space, but not orbit

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 21 March 2007 10:07

Science - Space

SpaceX finally achieved a successful launch of its Falcon 1 rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands southeast of Hawaii.

Although the rocket entered space, a problem with the second stage caused the craft to roll and the engine shut down at an altitude of 300 kilometres (187 miles) but before Falcon 1 reached orbit.

An attempt earlier today was aborted at the last moment due to slightly low pressure in the engine chamber.

The company's plan is that Falcon will be a relatively low-cost vehicle for getting payloads into orbit, due in part to a reusable first stage. 

SpaceX has already committed to a number of commercial and government missions using Falcon 1 and the larger Falcon 2 rocket. The next launch is expected to be the first operational flight: "I really doubt that there's any need for a third test flight," said SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

That mission is scheduled for the third quarter, and slated to carry a military communications satellite along with the cremated remains of a number of people including Gordon Cooper (one of America's original astronauts from the Mercury program) and James Doohan (famous for the role of 'Scotty' in Star Trek).

Musk was the co-founder of PayPal, which is now owned by eBay.