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07-10-2012 19:40 Liftoff of Falcon 9 and Dragon from Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Fl. October 7, 2012. SpaceX Launches Rocket to International Space Station First Private Company to Resupply the Space SpaceX is set to usher in a new era for NASA's space flight program when a towering white rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and heads to the International Space Station on a resupply mission. If successful, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, will be the first private company to resupply the space station on a contracted mission for NASA. The company has a $1.6-billion contract to carry out 12 such cargo missions for the space agency in the coming years. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is set to blast off Sunday at 5:35 pm PDT from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral carrying its Dragon capsule packed with 1000 pounds of food, experiments and supplies. The launch will be webcast on NASA TV beginning at 4 pm PDT and in the video stream above, which is provided by SpaceX. According to the latest report, there is a 60% chance the weather will be clear enough for launch. Hawthorne-based SpaceX has had three launches with its Falcon 9 rocket -- all of them successful. In May, the company performed a successful demonstration mission to the space station, showing NASA that it could do the job. "I'm still quite nervous about it because it's just our second mission to the station," Elon Musk, SpaceX's 41-year-old billionaire founder and chief executive ...

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Successful SpaceX Launch Rocket International Space Station First Private Company Dragon Space X - Video

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned, privately owned Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule blasted off from Cape Canaveral on Sunday on a mission to restore a U.S. supply line to the International Space Station after the retirement of the space shuttle.

Powered by nine oxygen and kerosene-burning engines, the 157-foot (48-meter) tall rocket, built by Space Exploration Technologies, lifted off from its seaside launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:35 p.m. EDT.

"This was a critical event for NASA and the nation tonight," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Just over a year after the retirement of the space shuttle, we have returned space station cargo-resupply missions to U.S. soil."

The Falcon booster, flying for the fourth time, streaked through balmy, partly cloudy skies as it headed east over the Atlantic Ocean toward the station's orbit, some 250 miles above Earth.

Despite a problem with one engine during the 10-minute climb to orbit, the capsule was delivered exactly where it was intended to go, company president Gwynne Shotwell told reporters.

"Falcon 9 was designed to lose engines and still make missions, so it did what it was supposed to do," Shotwell said. "We will learn from our flights and continue to improve the vehicle."

The capsule is scheduled to reach the $100-billion space station - a project of 15 nations - on Wednesday.

The company, also known as SpaceX, made a successful practice run to the station in May, clearing the way for it to begin working off a $1.6 billion, 12-flight contract to deliver cargo for NASA.

The Dragon cargo capsule carries about 882 pounds (400 kg) of food, clothing, science experiments and supplies for the station. The gear includes a freezer to transport medical samples and a rare treat for the station crew - chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream.

With the retirement of the space shuttles last year, NASA turned to the private sector to develop and fly freight to the station and is looking to do the same for crew transportation.

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SpaceX rocket blasts off for space station

The company founded by PayPal billionaire Elon Musk makes its inaugural run to the International Space Station, marking a big step for commercial space flight

Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX for short, launched a rocket with a capsule carrying supplies for the International Space Station on Sunday, officially beginning a new era in which NASA will count on private companies to carry cargo and, eventually, people into orbit. The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, the billionaire PayPal founder, declared the lift-off a success. Despite a problem with one of the rocket's nine engines, SpaceX's Dragon capsule is expected to dock with the space station on schedule Wednesday. SpaceX completed a test mission in May, but this is its first paid supply run to the space station. What will this trip mean for the future of space flight? Here, a brief guide:

What is SpaceX delivering to the space station? It's taking 1,000 pounds of supplies, including food, clothing, gear, and science experiments. The scientific projects include 23 built by students, including one designed by California middle school students to see how Silly Putty works in zero-gravity. The equipment includes a freezer to store laboratory samples at temperatures as low as 300 degrees below zero. The ship is also carrying a treat for the three people on board the space station chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream.

SEE MORE: The Curiosity rover: The jaw-dropping HD footage of its descent to Mars

Why is the mission so important? Russian, European, and Japanese cargo ships that have been ferrying supplies to the International Space Station can't bring anything back the crafts burn up on re-entry into the atmosphere. Dragon can bring supplies and scientific materials back to Earth a capability NASA lost when it retired the three-vehicle space shuttle fleet after Atlantis made its last flight in July 2011. "Just over a year after the retirement of the space shuttle," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. says, "we have returned space station cargo resupply missions to U.S. soil."

How long will Dragon be in space? The capsule will remain hitched to the space station for about three weeks. First, it will be off-loaded, then it will be filled back up with twice as much cargo as it carried aloft. It will be sent back with research gear, equipment, and frozen biomedical specimens, including astronauts' blood and urine samples that have been stockpiled in freezers ever since the last space shuttle mission. If all goes as planned, Dragon will leave the space station on Oct. 28, re-enter the atmosphere, and descend by parachute into the Pacific Ocean about 250 miles off the Southern California coast.

SEE MORE: Remembering Neil Armstrong: A humble hero and legendary astronaut

What's next for SpaceXand NASA? SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to perform a dozen such supply runs. Musk wants to knock off two missions this year, and ramp up to as many as six next year. In three or four years, SpaceX hopes to be able to transport people in its capsules, giving NASA a way to get astronauts to the orbiting science lab without relying on Russian Soyuz rockets. Eventually, Musk wants to let astronauts pilot his Dragon capsules home using thrusters for a soft landing, like a moon landing. The company's success will help determine whether the White House can achieve its goal of turning over servicing the space station entirely to commercial companies, so the U.S. space agency can focus on developing spacecraft that can go deeper into space and eventually reach Mars. "Everything hinges on the success of folks like Elon and his team," Bolden said.

Sources: The Associated Press, Aviation Week, The New York Times, Popular Mechanics

SEE MORE: The astronaut who completed a triathlon in space

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What the SpaceX launch means for private space flight

This story was updated at 10:46 p.m. ET.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A privately built rocket lit up the night sky over Florida Sunday (Oct. 7) to kick off the first-ever cargo delivery trip to the International Space Station by a robotic, American-made spacecraft.

The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by the commercial spaceflight firm SpaceX, roared into space atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket from a launch pad here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, beginning a three-day flight to the space station. Liftoff occurred at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 Monday GMT).

The mission is the first of a dozen SpaceX cargo flights under a $1.6 billion deal with NASA for its Commercial Resupply Services program. This flight, being the first mission, is dubbed SpaceX CRS-1 and is expected to arrive at the orbiting lab on Wednesday morning (Oct. 7).

NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini said Dragon's ability to launch supplies to the station and return cargo back to Earth is a cornerstone of boosting scientific research on the orbiting laboratory, as well as its day-to-day maintenance.

"Not to be overdramatic, but it's critical to the International Space Station,"Suffredini said during the countdown to launch. [Photos: Dragon Launches on 1st Space Station Cargo Trip]

Sunday night's launch was nearly flawless. One of the Falcon 9 rocket nine engines apparently shut down unexpectedly during the ascent, but the booster's eight other engines compensated for the glitch and delivered the Dragon spacecraft into its intended orbit, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said after the flight. The rocket is designed to do exactly that in the event of an engine anomaly, she added.

An American spaceship rises

When NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, it marked the first time in 30 years that the United States did not have an American spacecraft capable of flying missions to and from low-Earth orbit. NASA is relying on the availability of new private space taxis to deliver U.S. supplies, and ultimately astronauts, to the International Space Station.

Currently, the U.S. space agency depends on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry crews to the station, and sends cargo on various robotic spacecraft operated by space agencies in Russia, Japan and Europe. But those unmanned space freighters are not designed to return science experiments and other station gear back to Earth. Instead, the spacecraft are disposed of in Earth's atmosphere by burning up during re-entry.

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Liftoff! SpaceX Dragon Launches 1st Private Space Station Cargo Mission

A commercial cargo ship rocketed into orbit Sunday in pursuit of the International Space Station, the first of a dozen supply runs under a mega-contract with NASA.

It was the second launch of a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab by the California-based SpaceX company. The first was last spring.

This time was no test flight, however, and the spacecraft carried 1,000 pounds of key science experiments and other precious gear on this truly operational mission. There was also a personal touch: chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream tucked in a freezer for the three station residents.

The company's unmanned Falcon rocket roared into the night sky right on time, putting SpaceX on track to reach the space station Wednesday. The complex was soaring southwest of Tasmania when the Falcon took flight.

Officials declared the launch a success, despite a problem with one of the nine first-stage engines. The rocket put Dragon in its intended orbit, said the billionaire founder and chief executive officer of SpaceX, Elon Musk.

"It's driving its way to station, so that's just awesome," noted SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.

In more good news, a piece of space junk was no longer threatening the station, and NASA could focus entirely on the delivery mission.

NASA is counting on private business to restock the space station, now that the shuttles have retired to museums. The space agency has a $1.6 billion contract with SpaceX for 12 resupply missions.

Especially exciting for NASA is the fact that the Dragon will return twice as much cargo as it took up, including a stockpile of astronauts' blood and urine samples. The samples nearly 500 of them have been stashed in freezers since Atlantis made the last shuttle flight in July 2011.

The Dragon will spend close to three weeks at the space station before being released and parachuting into the Pacific at the end of October. By then, the space station should be back up to a full crew of six.

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SpaceX Launched to Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A commercial cargo ship rocketed into orbit Sunday in pursuit of the International Space Station, the first of a dozen supply runs under a mega-contract with NASA.

It was the second launch of a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab by the California-based SpaceX company. The first was last spring.

This time was no test flight, however, and the spacecraft carried 1,000 pounds of key science experiments and other precious gear on this truly operational mission. There was also a personal touch: chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream tucked in a freezer for the three station residents.

The company's unmanned Falcon rocket roared into the night sky right on time, putting SpaceX on track to reach the space station Wednesday. The complex was soaring southwest of Tasmania when the Falcon took flight.

Officials declared the launch a success, despite a problem with one of the nine first-stage engines. The rocket put Dragon in its intended orbit, said the billionaire founder and chief executive officer of SpaceX, Elon Musk.

"It's driving its way to station, so that's just awesome," noted SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.

In more good news, a piece of space junk was no longer threatening the station, and NASA could focus entirely on the delivery mission.

NASA is counting on private business to restock the space station, now that the shuttles have retired to museums. The space agency has a $1.6 billion contract with SpaceX for 12 resupply missions.

Especially exciting for NASA is the fact that the Dragon will return twice as much cargo as it took up, including a stockpile of astronauts' blood and urine samples. The samples nearly 500 of them have been stashed in freezers since Atlantis made the last shuttle flight in July 2011.

The Dragon will spend close to three weeks at the space station before being released and parachuting into the Pacific at the end of October. By then, the space station should be back up to a full crew of six.

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SpaceX Dragon capsule launched to space station