Saturday, June 5, 2010

PayPal Millionaire's Rocket Blasts Off On 1st Test Flight


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A multimillionaire's test rocket has blasted off on its maiden voyage.

SpaceX's brand new Falcon 9 rocket soared off its Cape Canaveral launch pad Friday afternoon. It's carrying a mock-up of the company's spacecraft, named Dragon. The goal is to put the capsule into orbit.

The first attempt to launch the rocket was aborted in the final few seconds earlier Friday.

NASA hopes to use the Falcon-Dragon combo for hauling cargo and possibly astronauts to the International Space Station, once the shuttles stop flying. The first supply run could come next year.


SpaceX — or Space Exploration Technologies — was founded eight years ago by Elon Musk, a South African-born entrepreneur who co-founded PayPal.

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