SpaceX launches rocket with supplies to International Space Station

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was sentinto space Sunday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, on a mission to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

The booster portion of the rocket was able to return safely toEarth, landing atCape Canaveral in Floridaa feat that has been accomplished only twice before.

The launch wasthe first from Kennedy Space Center, just to the north,since the shuttles were retired six years ago. This launch was rescheduled to Sunday after being scrubbed on Saturday due to concerns over the rocket'ssteering system.

It was also SpaceX's first launch from Florida since a rocket explosion last September.

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The nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station pad whereSpaceXhad been launching its Falcon 9 rockets was damagedduring thefuelling accident. The company expects to return the facilityto service later this year after repairs.

In its place, the seaside Launch Complex 39Afrom which astronauts onceblasted off for the moon was revitalized thanksto the commercial space venture founded by tech entrepreneurElon Musk, owner ofSpace Exploration Technologies Corp.

NASA leased the so-called Apollo pad toElonMusk's company in 2014.

"We are honoured to be allowed to use it," Musk said in a tweet noting its historic significance.

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For its Kennedy Space Center debut,SpaceXlaunched acargo ship to the space station for NASA and has several commercial satellite flights planned through the spring.

SpaceXhas abacklog of more than 70 missionsworth more than $10 billion.

Within about two years, the company expects to add humanspaceflightto its launch services. The U.S. space agencyhas hiredSpaceXand Boeing Co. to ferry astronauts to the space station, breaking a Russian monopoly in effect since the shuttles were retired.

For humanspaceflight,SpaceXwill need to build up39A'slaunch tower and hang a new walkway so astronauts can access the Crew Dragon spaceship, said Stephen Payne, NASA's launch integration manager for the Commercial Crew program.

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