[3/29/07] While noting that its Falcon 1 rocket fell well short of the velocity needed to reach orbit, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) declared the rocket operational following its second test launch, founder and CEO Elon Musk said in a March 27 posting on the company’s Web site.

The Falcon 1 reached an altitude of 289 kilometers, “which is certainly enough for orbit,” Musk said. The rocket fell short of its intended target altitude when its second stage engine shut down early as oscillations cut off propellant from the engine.
 
"The reason that flight two can legitimately be called a near-complete success as a test flight is that we have excellent data throughout the whole orbit insertion profile, including well past second stage shutdown, and met all of the primary objectives established beforehand by our customer,” the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Musk said.

Musk added, however, that “anything less than orbit for any Falcon 1 mission with an operational satellite will unequivocally be considered a failure.”

The U.S. Navy’s TacSat-1 satellite is due to be launched on a Falcon 1 rocket in September, followed by Razaksat for the Malaysian Space Agency in November.