UPDATE: SpaceX just announced via Twitter that the Dragon successfully splashed down in the Pacific: "SpaceX is the first commercial company to reenter a spacecraft from space!"
Liftoff! As I write this, the Dragon capsule by private space company SpaceX is orbiting the Earth, having been blasted successfully in space by the company's Falcon 9 rocket.
The rise to orbit served as a test run for future resupply flights to the International Space Station. Before today's launch, SpaceX's millionaire founder, Elon Musk, observed that a successful ascent would demonstrate that the Dragon could reach the space station, even if it didn't later re-enter the atmosphere and make its scheduled splashdown in the Pacific. [MSNBC]
Shortly—a little after 2 p.m. Eastern—the capsule is scheduled to conclude its orbits of the planet and attempt reentry. If SpaceX is successful it will become the first private company to accomplish what only government space ...
