SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a news release that a problem occurred causing the rocket's two stages to remain together instead of separating after the launch from a Central Pacific atoll.
However, he described the launch, powered by the company's new Merlin engine, as "picture perfect."
SpaceX is developing the single-engine Falcon 1, the nine-engine Falcon 9, the 27-engine Heavy Falcon and the Dragon cargo-crew capsule to fly to the international space station when the current space shuttle fleet retires in 2010.
