“Dragon made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft in history to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and safely return cargo to Earth, a feat previously achieved only by governments,” reads the page on the Dragon spacecraft on the official SpaceX website. Using NASA’s historic pad 39A, which once sent Apollo moonships and space shuttles on their way, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center Sunday, boosting a Dragon cargo ship into orbit to deliver nearly 5,500 pounds of equipment, supplies research material to the International Space Station.
SpaceX successfully launches a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, placing a Dragon spacecraft in orbit and recovering the launcher's first stage. The spacecraft will resupply the International Space Station.