SpaceX launches first commercial satellite to orbit

PayPal founder Elon Musk’s civilian spaceflight company, SpaceX, achieved its first commercial success this week after its Falcon 1 rocket lofted a Malaysian Earth-imaging satellite into orbit.

The launch took place at 0335 GMT on Tuesday from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Marshall Islands inserted the RazakSAT spacecraft into a near-equatorial orbit at an altitude of 695 kilometres.

Malaysia hopes that RazakSAT, which will fly over its territory 12 times a day, will help scientists better manage the country’s forests, farmland and marine resources.

The launch for its first paying customer is a big step for SpaceX, since the firm has won a contract from NASA to haul cargo to the International Space Station. Until now its Falcon 1 rocket had only lofted a dummy payload successfully – before that it had three launch failures.

SpaceX will use a much larger rocket for its future NASA launches: the Falcon 9 will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying cargo in the Dragon, a pressurised capsule it is also developing.