At a length of 21.3m, Falcon 1 is the smallest in the Falcon family.

BBC: The new Falcon 1 rocket has been lost on its maiden flight.

His company, Space Exploration Technologies (or "SpaceX"), is developing a rocket called Falcon 1.

FORBES: The New Space Race

Last year, the company tried to launch its "Falcon 1" rocket, but it caught fire on the way up.

NPR: SpaceX Makes Progress with Rocket Test

On Tuesday, a fresh Falcon 1 sat on the island launch pad with palm trees waving in the background.

NPR: SpaceX Makes Progress with Rocket Test

The Falcon 1 is the first in a line of vehicles the SpaceX company hopes will shake up rocket services.

BBC: The new Falcon 1 rocket has been lost on its maiden flight.

Minutes later, Falcon 1 had reached space.

NPR: SpaceX Makes Progress with Rocket Test

In fact, data from every Falcon 1 launch was used to make our two Falcon 9 flights a huge success, which is even more remarkable when you consider that 50% of new rocket designs fail in their first launches.

FORBES: SpaceX: Loren Thompson's Deceit

The Sunday flight -- dubbed CRS-1 -- will have the Dragon capsule piggybacking on a Falcon 9 rocket to punch through the atmosphere while carrying more than a thousand pounds of cargo.

ENGADGET: SpaceX Dragon capsule launch gets go signal from NASA Alt