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The first private spacecraft, the Falcon 1 into orbit28.9.2008
The Falcon 1 is an expendable launch system privately developed and manufactured by SpaceX, a space transportation company in Hawthorne, California. The two-stage-to-orbit rocket uses LOX/RP-1 for both stages, the first powered by a single Merlin engine and the second powered by a single Kestrel engine. It was designed by SpaceX from the ground up and is the first successfully liquid-propelled orbital launch vehicle developed with private funding.
The vehicle has made five launches. Falcon 1 achieved orbit on its fourth attempt, on 28 September 2008, with a mass simulator as a payload. On 14 July 2009, Falcon 1 successfully delivered the Malaysian RazakSAT satellite to orbit on SpaceX's first commercial launch (fifth launch overall). Following its fifth launch, the Falcon 1 was retired.
Space-X had announced an enhanced variant, the Falcon 1e, but as of May 2012, SpaceX states that "Current plans are for payloads that would fly on Falcon 1 to be served by flights on the Falcon 9, utilizing excess capacity" and no Falcon 1 or 1e flights are scheduled through 2017.
