SpaceX launched Falcon 1 successfully for the first time in 2008.
The launch took place on September 28, 2008, from Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll. Falcon 1 became the first privately developed, liquid-fueled orbital rocket to reach orbit successfully. The mission carried a dummy payload rather than an operational commercial satellite.
The success followed three failed Falcon 1 launches in 2006, 2007, and August 2008. SpaceX was close to running out of money, so the fourth launch was especially important to the company’s survival. This fact is separate from the year SpaceX was founded, which was 2002.