Falcon 9 second flight is successful, Dragon capsule now in orbit

After yesterday's sad news about Japan's Akatsuki probe we have great news on the private spaceflight end - SpaceX has successfully launched its second Falcon 9 rocket, and the Dragon capsule is now in orbit. It's due to come down in about 90 minutes, which is the middle of the night here in Korea so I won't see the news until next morning.

What makes this news so important is that it's SpaceX's first successful step towards launching manned crew, which is all the more crucial not just because they are an inexpensive solution but because the Space Shuttles are just about done.

Now let's scour YouTube for a launch video. Shouldn't be hard to find...and here we are, enjoy.



Edit: now it's morning, and the mission has been 100% successful with all three parachutes opening and a splashdown west of Mexico. Done!