Falcon 9 Launches to Orbit
June 9th, 2010
A new rocket, the Falcon 9, was launched successfully from
Cape Canaveral,
Florida,
USA, last week.
The Falcon 9,
standing about as high as a 15-floor building, was developed by the commercial
SpaceX corporation as a step toward a relatively inexpensive
space launch system.
Falcon 9's success follows successful launches of the Falcon 1
last year.
Pictured above,
a movie of the Falcon 9's launch includes an insect,
the launch as viewed from far away, and
images from the
side of the vehicle
which include the separation of the lower stage.
When topped with
SpaceX's Dragon
Cargo or Crew capsule, the Falcon 9 may be used to lift satellites and astronauts to low Earth orbit and the
International Space Station in the coming decade.
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