] MCGREGOR, Texas -- With a mighty roar that could be heard
] even through the concrete walls of the blockhouse at a
] rocket-testing facility here, a Space Exploration
] Technologies rocket engine called Merlin blazed to life
] Friday. The camera views on the monitors in the control
] room trembled as the engine shook the ground of the empty
] Texas plain with 73,000 pounds of thrust -- enough power
] to send a 1,500-pound payload into orbit.

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