The Falcon 9, which has nine rocket engines to the Falcon 1's one, is scheduled to go on its maiden voyage in 1Q 2009. If SpaceX meets the reliability milestones metered out by NASA, it'll get a $278 million award—about a tenth of the cost the government agency paid Lockheed Martin to develop its own people-transporting, space-faring rocket. [Wired]

The Falcon 1 rockets have all been launched from Kwajalein, in the US Marshall islands in the Pacific. Moving to the Cape will allow SpaceX to work more closely with NASA, which is still planning to rely on private systems like Falcon 9 to carry the Space Shuttle's burden of ISS service and orbital insertions after it retires by 2010, and until Orion can take up the mantle in 2015 (which many see as an optimistic time frame).

Honestly though, we admire SpaceX. They're pushing private-sector space operations further than most would ever dare—let's just hope they get a break soon. For Scotty. [Space Ref via /.]