It was fourth time lucky for Space Exploration Technologies and its Falcon 1 rocket. After a trio of failed flights since 2006, the privately funded rocket soared into low-Earth orbit from Kwajalein atoll on Omelek Island on 28 September.

SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, hope that the launch marks the dawn of a new, substantially cheaper era of space flight. The company estimates that each Falcon-1 launch will cost less than US$10 million; existing systems can cost up to four times as much.

Next up are the company's larger heavy-lift rockets. Dubbed Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy, these rockets could potentially carry much bigger payloads farther from Earth.

The first launch for Falcon 9, whose nine engines have been successfully fired on the ground, is slated for next year.