SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was successfully blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday, defying a bleak weather forecast.
“The rocket flight was perfect as far as we could tell,” SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk told mediaperson soon after the launch.
Ending a series of delays that was caused due to several technical issues, the rocket finally launched at 3:25 p.m. EDT.
The weather condition was, however, not much favourable for the launch as clouds and rain was indicating its postponement. But skies cleared in time during the launch.
“Mother Nature is providing a window of opportunity today,” NASA mission commentator Michael Curie said shortly before liftoff.
SpaceX rocket has been blasted off to send a Dragon cargo capsule on its way to the International Space Station that will arrive on Sunday.
“We didn’t really expect this stage to come back — obviously we had some hope of course. Overall, I think the data is much more important here,” SpaceX vice president Hans Koenigsmann told reporters.
The 224-foot rocket will carry the capsule, packed with 5,000 pounds of supplies for the two Americans, one Japanese and three Russians aboard the space station.
This is SpaceX’s third mission on its USD 1.6-billion contract to transport cargo in 12 flights.