A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from a historic launch pad at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday morning.
The launch took off right at 9:38 a.m. under wet conditions and cloudy skies. It was visible for just seconds before ducking into clouds.
About 9 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of the booster rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The Falcon 9 rocket carried almost 5,500 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station. It took off from pad 39 at KSC and was the first launch from the pad in six years. The last was shuttle Atlantis, the final lifoff of the 30-year-old shuttle program. Pad 39A was also where the famed Apollo missions took men to the moon almost five decades ago.
Those on the Space Coast or surrounding counties heard twin sonic booms as the booster broke the speed of sound as it slowed down. That was reminiscent of the space shuttle days, when orbiters would come in for landings at KSC.
Cheers erupted inside SpaceX Mission Control. A minute or two later, the SpaceX Dragon supply ship successfully reached orbit, generating more applause.
SpaceX coordinated with law enforcement to cut down on the number of 911 calls from concerned but unaware residents.
The launch was SpaceX’s first launch in Florida since 2016, when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded at Cape Canaveral during a routine fueling procedure.
Saturday’s launch attempt was aborted 13 seconds before liftoff out of an “abundance of caution,” because of a steering issue in the upper stage of the vehicle.
SpaceX will launch again from Pad 39A in the next two weeks — the company will try to lift off an EchoStar satellite. A firm date hasn't been set.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.