A couple hours ago, aerospace startup SpaceX succeeded in launching a two-stage Falcon 1 rocket to sub-orbital space, attaining an altitude of 300 kilometers before the second stage shut down prematurely. Anomalies aside, this is a pretty significant step in the privatization of spaceflight — for perspective, consider that the International Space Station orbits the Earth at approximately 360 km.

Blast-off from the Omelek Island launch pad at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.