SpaceX Successfully Conducts Full Mission-Length Firing of its Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle

Significant Milestone Achieved as SpaceX Prepares to Demonstrate U.S. Transport to the International Space Station

"At full power, the rocket generated 855,000 pounds of force at sea level. In vacuum, the thrust increases to approximately one million pounds...
...
Like an airliner, the Falcon 9 engines are enclosed in a protective sheath that ensures a fire or destructive loss of an engine doesn't affect the rest of the vehicle.

The Falcon 9 will be the first vehicle since the Saturn V and Saturn 1 to have the ability to lose any engine/motor and still be able to complete its mission without loss of crew or spacecraft."

' “The full mission-length test firing clears the highest hurdle for the Falcon 9 first stage before launch,” said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX. “In the next few months, we will have the first Falcon 9 flight vehicle on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral, preparing for lift-off in 2009.” '
http://www.spacex.com/press.php?page=20081123

Anyhow Tom posted this earlier, but thought it was worth repeating.