SpaceX Falcon 1 Makes It To Space

In a week where we faced the melt-down of Wall Street and the death of Paul Newman, it's uplifting (no pun intended) to read that SpaceX's forth attempt to achieve orbit succeeded. The only stories so far about this success are on Wired and Spaceflight Now. While the launch of the Chinese Shenzhou 7 with the Chinese first-ever space walk is important (especially to the Chinese), what sets Falcon 1 apart from every other rocket of its type to date is that it's privately funded and every element is of new design. And it achieved orbit.

My hat is off to the terrific team at SpaceX. May you have even greater successes in the future.

Update

Another article from Wired: "Space Visionaries Prove Naysayers Wrong — Again"

Update 2

It's a success: Valley billionaire launches rocket into orbit

Update 3

Here's a more complete article from Spaceflight Now. One additional important milestone was achieved yesterday; the second stage engine re-fired to circularize the orbit.