A Falcon 9 rocket is on its way to the International Space Station after lifting off from Cape Canaveral Sunday evening.

The SpaceX rocket is carrying up approximately 1,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS in a capsule attached to the rocket.

This is the first of 12 contracted missions between SpaceX and NASA to resupply the ISS.

Not only will the mission bring cargo to the ISS, it is the first time it will bring back significant research and samples.

"When you have a launch vehicle that's in your country, it just makes it a lot easier because literally shipping and customs can kill you when you're trying to get overseas, and this really makes the process faster, and allows us to react to anomalies in real time," said ISS Director Sam Scimemi.

Since the retirement of the shuttle program over a year ago, NASA has had to rely on Russia to get astronauts in and out of space.