SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has enjoyed a successful maiden test flight after the first launch attempted was aborted.

The rocket, which could one day carry astronauts, blasted-off from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 1845 GMT.

The California-based firm developed the vehicle with a large subsidy from Nasa.

Friday's first launch attempt was aborted at the last second because an engine parameter fell out of limits.

According to the Spaceflight Now website, a SpaceX spokesperson said the rocket achieved orbit, but they were not sure of the altitude or inclination.

US President Barack Obama, who inspected the rocket on its pad in April, has said he wanted the business of taxiing astronauts to and from the International Space Station handed to the commercial sector.

Many commentators believe the Falcon is in a prime position to win that business.

Before the rocket can be allowed to launch humans, it has to first demonstrate performance and reliability in the role of lofting robotic spacecraft.

Lofty ambitions

The Falcon 9 in its simplest form is a "single stick" vehicle with a two-stage configuration. A cluster of nine SpaceX-developed Merlin-1C engines will power the rocket off the pad.

A single Merlin on the second stage will complete the task of pushing the payload into orbit.

For its maiden flight, the Falcon 9 carried a cut-down version of its Dragon freighter - a blunt-nosed, 3.6m-wide capsule that will collect engineering performance data during the ascent.

On future flights, Dragon will be filled with supplies for the International Space Station.

Historically, the maiden flights of rockets have a notoriously high failure rate. Some two-thirds of the rockets introduced in the past 20 years have had an unsuccessful first outing.

Millionaire Elon Musk set up SpaceX in 2002 and has already flown a much smaller rocket called the Falcon 1.

To keep costs as low as possible, the Falcon 9 uses many of the same components and systems, including its kerosene/liquid-oxygen-burning Merlin engines.

SpaceX was awarded a $1.6bn contract by Nasa in 2008 for up to 12 Falcon/Dragon missions to the ISS.

The Dragon freighter, once operational, is expected to be capable of hauling six tonnes of food, water, air and equipment to the platform.

The company says it has designed Dragon in such a way that it can be converted relatively easily into a crew ship, if Nasa so desires it.

The company claims that it would be ready to launch astronauts on the Falcon within three years of being given an ISS taxiing contract.

However, other space companies and their rockets will almost certainly be in competition for such work, including some of the established industry names like Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

SpaceX hopes the Falcon 9 can also take a sizeable share of the commercial satellite launch market.

It is quoting prices to put large telecommunications spacecraft in geostationary orbit that dramatically undercut current sector leaders, such as Europe's Ariane 5 and Russia's Proton vehicles.

But Rachel Villain from the respected space analysts Euroconsult said many in the satellite business were being cautious about SpaceX's future prospects.

"This is not new in the industry," she told BBC News.

"When we had the maiden flight of Ariane 4, when we had the maiden flight of Atlas 3, the maiden flight of Delta 4 - all these vehicles promoted a good price for the company taking the risk of being on an early launch. I, like many in the industry, am watching to see if SpaceX can sustain these prices."

Israel has reiterated that a ship carrying aid and international activists will not be allowed to break its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The MV Rachel Corrie is on schedule to reach the territory early on Saturday.

The confrontation comes days after Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla of aid ships approaching Gaza, leaving nine people dead and many more injured.

The raid brought strong condemnation of Israel, especially from Turkey where most of the victims were from.

"We will stop the ship, and also any other ship that will try to harm Israeli sovereignty," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israeli television.

"There is no chance the Rachel Corrie will reach the coast of Gaza."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Thursday that the boat would not be allowed to reach the territory.

Aid pledge

The ship is named after a US college student who was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer as she protested over house demolitions in Gaza.

Israel has told the ship to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod and promised that the aid will be taken by road to Gaza, after officials have examined it.

In a statement, the White House reiterated its belief that the blockade of Gaza was "unsustainable", but urged activists on the Rachel Corrie to do as the Israelis asked and take the aid to Ashdod.

Irish Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire, who is aboard the ship, has insisted it will not be diverted.

"We are not afraid," she told Irish broadcaster RTE by satellite telephone.

"We started out to deliver this cargo to the people of Gaza and to break the siege of Gaza, that is what we want to do," the 66-year-old human rights campaigner said.

The Irish foreign ministry said the ship should be allowed to proceed to Gaza.

"Those on board the Rachel Corrie have made clear their peaceful intentions and have stated that they will offer no resistance to Israeli forces," it said.

Activists told the BBC that they aimed to arrive just outside Israel's 20-mile (32km) exclusion zone off Gaza by Saturday morning.

They said there were 20 people on board, including five Irish nationals, six Malaysians and nine crew members.

Accounts differ as to what happened when Israeli soldiers abseiled from helicopters on to the Turkish passenger ship Mavi Marmara in the early hours of last Monday.

Israel says the commandos were attacked with sticks and knives and used their weapons in self-defence. Activists say troops opened fire without provocation.

Israeli soldiers were among those injured in the incident.

Protests against the raid have taken place in cities around the world.

In Lebanon on Friday, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the radical group Hezbollah, addressed thousands of his supporters via a video link in Beirut saying another flotilla should be organised as soon as possible.

Threats over trade

Turkey has warned it might reduce economic and defence ties with Israel following Monday's raid, which took place in international waters.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Ankara was "assessing deals with Israel", until now a close ally.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ratcheted up the pressure on Friday, saying he did not view Hamas, which controls Gaza, as a terrorist organisation.

In a televised speech Mr Erdogan described Hamas as "resistance fighters who are struggling to defend their land".

Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and the EU.

Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas came to power. Egypt has occasionally opened its Rafah crossing with Gaza on humanitarian grounds, and opened it again following the Israeli sea-borne raid.

Are you on the MV Rachel Corrie? Do the issues in this story affect you? Send us your comments using the form below.

A law intended to curb illegal immigration is to take effect in the southwestern state of Arizona late next month and it is generating controversy across the United States. Recent public opinion polls indicate that a majority of Americans, including those in Arizona, support the new law, which requires non-citizens to carry documents that show that they are in the United States legally. It also requires Arizona police to question people if there is reason to believe they are not in the country legally. Our correspondent reports from Tucson, Arizona that both sides in the debate say it is up to Washington to settle the immigration issue.

The new law has led to protests throughout the United States and it is dividing the people of Tucson. The city is only 100 kilometers from the U.S. border with Mexico. And authorities say that at least 40 percent of U.S. border crossing arrests are in the Tucson region. More than 240,000 illegal migrants were apprehended in there last year.

South of Tucson, on the border, residents complain of human and drug smuggling, of nuisances like trash left by those who cross the border illegally, and of violence.

Bill Odle's home is on the border. He says lack of action by the U.S. government prompted the state measure.

"Because we're so disappointed in the failure of the federal government to do anything productive. They [federal government] are charged with that [border enforcement] in the Constitution. And they have just failed," said Bill Odle.
But in the Hispanic neighborhood of South Tucson, attitudes are different. At a local charity that offers food to the poor, Mexican American activist Pancho Medina says the law targets Hispanics.

"The state legislature should be saying, 'Mexicans, go home! Go back to Mexico, Mexicans!' That's what they're really saying. And I'm angry because I'm more of an American, I'm a better citizen, more patriotic than half of these people in the United States," said Pancho Medina.

Responding to criticism, the Arizona legislature changed the wording of the law to ensure that race is not a factor in enforcement.

But critics like Reverend Delle McCormick of the group BorderLinks say race will be decisive.

"Everybody knows who's stopped more often here," said Delle McCormick. "I mean, it's happened for years. It's people of color, people with brown skin or light brown skin. It's people who are smaller in stature. People who wear a particular kind of clothing, have a backpack on, have dark clothing, look like they've come through the desert, look like they're a migrant."

Police worry that the law will hurt relations with the Hispanic community.

Captain Michael Gillooly, chief of staff of the Tucson Police Department, says the new law will take officers away from enforcing other laws.

"And that might be challenging for us because we're a busy community, a busy police department," said Captain Gillooly. "And we will have to find time for that. The challenge is that the law also prescribes a remedy for a civil lawsuit against the city and the police department, if somebody feels we did not enforce the law when we had an opportunity to do so."
Since Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill into law in April, dozens of U.S. cities have launched boycotts against the state. Economists say they might already be having an impact on Arizona's tourist industry, which employs 40,000 people in Tucson alone.

But Kimberly Schmitz of the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitor's Bureau says the boycotts will not resolve the issue of immigration.

"Boycotts are bad for everybody," said Kimberly Schmitz. "Everybody suffers. There's just nothing good that comes out of it. We believe that there are other ways to work with some of the issues that are going on than to try to deprive an industry or really deprive people in an industry of their livelihood."

The new law faces civil lawsuits. And the Obama administration is considering a court challenge by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Law professors at the University of Arizona in Tucson have tried to untangle the issues. One says the law is not well written, but that it raises important questions about the place of race in law enforcement and the role of local officials in enforcing federal immigration law. Professor Marc Miller says it is unclear whether the Arizona law will withstand a court challenge.

"And part of the difficulty in answering the question is that to understand all of the legal issues involved with this bill requires about half of a modern American law faculty," said Marc Miller. "You have to be a criminal lawyer, an expert in criminal procedure, in state and federal relations, in state and local law, in constitutional law and in immigration law."

President Barack Obama has promised to send an additional 1,200 National Guard troops to boost security along the U.S.-Mexico border, but that has done little to satisfy either side in the debate.

In the end, most people agree that the federal government has the main responsibility for overseeing immigration. Conservatives largely favor better fences and stricter border enforcement. And liberals want immigration reform with a path to citizenship for some of the millions of people who are already in the United States illegally.

Another confrontation is looming on the high seas off the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip, days after Israel's deadly flotilla raid.

Pro-Palestinian activists are sailing another ship with humanitarian supplies toward Gaza to try and break the Israeli blockade. It is expected to arrive soon, though it is not clear precisely when. Organizers say Israel is jamming communications and they have lost contact with the vessel.

On Monday, Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla, killing nine activists on board and sparking international outrage. The ship that is now on its way to Gaza is carrying 11 activists, including a Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Northern Ireland. Israel says this vessel, too, will be intercepted.

Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement says activists will not be intimidated. "This is an act of defiance. So it won't make any difference what Israel does. We are still going to go. We have been threatened. We are not going to be stopped," said Berlin.

Video of Monday's incident shows that when Israeli commandos stormed the flotilla, they were beaten by activists wielding clubs. The military also released photos of dozens of knives that were confiscated from the ships.

U.S. President Barack Obama told CNN late Thursday that he acknowledges Israel's security concerns but still called Monday's Israeli raid tragic.

Berlin says the passengers on the ship approaching now are unarmed. "We like to say we are non-violent, direct-action activists. And that simply means that when there is an injustice we will non-violently resist," said Berlin.

Israel has rejected demands by the United Nations to lift the blockade on Gaza, saying that would enable the ruling Palestinian militant group Hamas to rearm with rockets and missiles. At the same time, officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might ease the blockade to appease international anger. While ships heading to Gaza would be searched, more civilian goods would be allowed in to the enclave.

The Pentagon is denying reports from Seoul there will be a joint U.S.-South Korean naval exercise as early as next week in response to the conclusion of an international investigation that North Korea sank a South Korean ship in March. Officials also deny that there is a plan for a U.S. aircraft carrier to be involved in any exercises off the Korean coast.

Two senior spokesmen have denied the reports. In an e-mail, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said "no carriers are going anywhere near the Korean peninsula anytime soon." Morrell is in Singapore, where U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will discuss the Korean tensions with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, as well as with senior defense officials from other Asian nations. Morrell says Gates has made no decision to send an aircraft carrier to the region, and no such decision is expected soon.

In Seoul, the defense ministry spokesman told reporters earlier that a U.S.-South Korean naval exercises will start on Monday in the Yellow Sea, near the area where the South Korean ship was sunk. Some reports said it would involve a U.S. aircraft carrier based in Japan.

But at the Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman said that is not accurate.

"There have not been any decisions with respect to these reports I see about carrier exercises," said Bryan Whitman. "I have talked to you about the exercises that the United States is contemplating and planning with respect to the Republic of Korea. And those are some maritime security exercises and an anti-submarine exercise that is going to take place later this month or early next month."

Whitman had previously announced those two joint U.S.-South Korean naval exercises in response to the ship sinking. Another official says there could be a joint U.S.-South Korean announcement in Seoul on Friday to clarify exactly what exercises will be held, and when, and which ships will be involved.

Some experts caution that if an aircraft carrier is sent it could provoke a strong reaction from North Korea. American aircraft carriers are the largest and most capable navy ships in the world, with dozens of fighter jets and other significant firepower on board.

Shortly before landing in Singapore Thursday evening, Secretary Gates told reporters on his plane the United States is considering additional joint exercises with South Korea, but he did not provide specifics.

"An important element this time will be to reassure the South Koreans of our support as they face these provocations and a North [Korea] that seems even more unpredictable than usual," said Robert Gates.

The international investigation concluded that a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine sank the South Korean Navy ship the Cheonan, killing 46 men on board. North Korea has denied involvement.

Gates had hoped to discuss the Korean tensions with Chinese officials during his trip, but China said 'no' to his plan to visit Beijing and did not even send a senior delegation to the annual Singapore conference.

Japanese lawmakers have elected Naoto Kan as the country's new prime minister, two days after the surprise resignation of Yukio Hatoyama.

Mr Kan, the outgoing finance minister, promised a "new start" after ruling Democratic Party (DPJ) members chose him as their new leader.

He becomes Japan's fifth prime minister in three years.

Mr Hatoyama resigned as prime minister on Wednesday in a dispute over a US military base in southern Japan.

He had promised to move the airbase off Okinawa island, but failed to find an acceptable compromise to please locals and the US.

In a speech to DPJ members on Friday, Mr Kan said the alliance with the US would remain the "cornerstone" of Japan's diplomacy, but he made no pledges about the base.

"Prime Minister Hatoyama opened the door for a new DPJ to be built," Mr Kan was quoted as saying by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

"We have to rebuild the party and make a brand new start."

'Straight-talker'

Mr Kan was confirmed as prime minister by votes in both houses of parliament.

The 63-year-old took over the finance ministry in January and has also been serving as deputy prime minister.

He defeated little-known Shinji Tarutoko, chairman of the lower house environmental committee, by a vote of 291-129 among DPJ members of parliament.

Mr Hatoyama's cabinet formally resigned earlier on Friday, clearing the way for a party vote.

Mr Kan is expected to form a cabinet in the next few days, and to be sworn in by Emperor Akihito next week.

The DPJ has been swift to elect a new leader in preparation for upper house elections in July.

The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says Mr Kan is seen as a straight-talker with a reputation for standing up to the powerful bureaucracy.

He has pushed for higher taxes and spending cuts to tackle Japan's national debt, the biggest in the industrial world.

He is one of the DPJ's most high-profile politicians because of his role in exposing a scandal involving HIV-tainted blood products in the 1990s.

Our correspondent says the new prime minister will have to move quickly to impress voters and to reinvigorate a centre-left government, which many believe has lost its way after just nine months.