I see a lot of science news sites, space news sites, and space bloggers calling the inaugural SpaceX launch a failure. And sure, the rocket didn't deliver its payload to orbit.
However, I would not call today's launch a complete failure. First of all, nobody was injured or killed. Secondly, they made it all the way through their launch checklist. Third, they got the rocket to clear the tower and operate under its own guidance and thrust (using only the second new liquid-fuelled engine developed in the US since the 1970s, also on its maiden launch). Fourth, they managed to give much better coverage of the launch than previous attempts. Finally, they got plenty of data with which to figure out what went wrong.
I have seen a number of blogs speculating that the thermal blanket may not have come off the rocket properly, and could be seen in the on-board video flapping wildly after launch. If that turns out to be the cause of the loss of vehicle, then the solution to that problem might be fairly simple (such as removing the thermal blanket with a winch ten seconds prior to launch rather than counting on cables to yank it off during the launch).
Elon Musk has said that he would tolerate three destroyed rockets before re-evaluating the company. It will likely take a few months to figure out the exact cause(s) of the loss of vehicle and gin up a solution, but given what these guys have accomplished so far (with a small workforce, comparatively low costs, and in only three years) I won't be going too far out on a limb to say that I think that they will succeed, and soon. Expect them to launch again in a few months.
Update: Elon Musk (via Kimbal Musk) says that the thermal blanket doesn't appear to have been the problem; instead a fuel leak caused a fire near the top of the main engine. The fire then got into the helium pneumatics, which caused the pressure in the helium system to drop, triggering a safety valve that shut off the engine. As for what went right:
all vehicle systems, including the main engine, thrust vector control, structures, avionics, software, guidance algorithm, etc. were picture perfect. Falcon's trajectory was within 0.2 degrees of nominal during powered flight.
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