Launch was delayed several times due to a faulty helium valve on the ground and bad weather at the launch site at Kwajalein.This was the fifth flight of the Falcon 1 rocket, with the last two flights being succesful. Later this year the inaugural flight of the larger Falcon 9 rocket is planned from Cape Canaveral

The RazakSat satellite was originally named MACSAT Medium-Sized Aperture Camera Satellite. It was a joint development program between Astronautic Technology M Sdn.Bhd. of Malaysia and SaTReCi to develop and validate technologies for a Near Equatorial Orbit remote sensing mini satellite system to acquire medium high resolution images.