The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared into space from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the Dragon capsule to orbit at 3:44 a.m. on Tuesday.
The launch is the company’s second demonstration test flight for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, Program.
During the flight, there will be a series of check-out procedures to test and prove Dragon’s systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station.
It is the first time a private company has attempted to berth a spacecraft with the ISS.
An earlier launch, planned for Saturday morning, had to be scrubbed when computers automatically shut down less than one second before liftoff due to unusually high pressure in one of the engine’s combustion chambers.
If all goes well, a series of other launches are planned to deliver cargo and eventually crew to the ISS.
