SpaceX announced that it had completed construction of the 5th Falcon 1 rocket and was transporting the vehicle to the Kwajalein Atoll launch complex where it was to be launched on April 21, 2009, which would be April 20, 2009 in the United States. Less than a week before the scheduled launch date, Malaysian news reported that unsafe vibration levels had been detected in the rocket and repairs were expected to take about six weeks.

On April 20, 2009 SpaceX announced in a press release, that the launch has been postponed because of a potential compatibility issue between the RazakSAT spacecraft and Falcon 1 launch vehicle. A concern has been identified regarding the potential impact of predicted vehicle environments on the satellite.

The launch on Monday, July 13 was successful, placing RazakSAT into its initial parking orbit. Thirty-eight minutes later, the rocket's second-stage engine fired again to circularize the orbit. The payload was then successfully deployed.