I have a question. What reassurances does any government have that a private contractor is incapable of a payload of nuclear material?

By W.J. Hennigan

December 3, 2013, 4:40 p.m.

With a thunderous roar, (click here) a 224-foot rocket carrying a massive satellite launched from Cape Canaveral and blasted into outer space, hurtling over the Atlantic Ocean as it cut across the night sky.

On Tuesday, Hawthorne rocket maker SpaceX lifted the SES-8 telecommunications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit -- nearly 50,000 miles from Earth. It was the first time the company reached such a distance, which is about one-quarter of the way to the moon.

Before the launch attempt, SpaceX said it would be the most challenging mission to date, and technical issues cropped up early....