The launch was webcast live and will be repeated here when SpaceX gets its act together.
Falcon 1's first-stage Merlin 1C and second-stage Kestrel engines are powered by burning highly refined kerosene and liquid oxygen.
Three previous attempts had failed for various reasons at between one and seven and a half minutes of flight.
The rocklet carried a simulated payload into orbit and will later be used for further cluttering up space with spy satellites or intergalactic Ebay transactions, we presume.
The company plans a larger rocket ship named Falcon 9 capable of lifting 9,900kg into low Earth orbit or 4,900kg to higher geostationary transfer orbit. It also plans a later Falcon 9 Heavy model to boost even larger payloads into orbit, as well as a pressurised spacecraft it calls Dragon. ยต