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Launch success for private cargo rocket SpaceX
An unmanned rocket owned by privately held Space Exploration Technologies blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for a mission designed to be the first commercial flight to the International Space Station.
May 22, 2012
(BBC NEWS) CAPE CANAVERAL - California's SpaceX has launched on a mission to re-supply the space station - the first cargo delivery to the orbiting outpost by a private company.
The firm's Falcon rocket, topped by an unmanned Dragon freight capsule, lifted clear of its Florida pad at 03:44 EDT (07:44 GMT; 08:44 BST).
The initial climb to an altitude some 340km above the Earth lasted a little under 10 minutes.