’The SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket was lost after launch due to a fuel leak from an as-yet undetermined problem. However, even right after launch the leak is pretty obvious:
29 seconds after launch the engine shut down automatically. The rocket went up due its momentum for a short time, then fell back to Earth… landing just 250 feet from the launch pad! Bummer. Amazing, but a bummer. The good news is it fell on a reef offshore, so the rocket parts can be recovered and examined. SpaceX has already said they will forge onward. I say good for them!
Incidentally, the satellite the rocket was lofting fell through the roof of a nearby machine shop when it came down. Scary (I mean, yikes!), but that means they can recover it, too. I doubt they can fix it; it fell from a long way up. Not exactly orbit, but enough that it may not be salvageable. We’ll know more soon.’
