What the SpaceX launch means for private space flight

The company founded by PayPal billionaire Elon Musk makes its inaugural run to the International Space Station, marking a big step for commercial space flight

 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon lifts off from the launch pad on Oct. 7 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The spacecraft is carrying supplies, including ice c
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX for short, launched a rocket with a capsule carrying supplies for the International Space Station on Sunday, officially beginning a new era in which NASA will count on private companies to carry cargo and, eventually, people into orbit. The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, the billionaire PayPal founder, declared the liftoff a success. Despite a problem with one of the rocket's nine engines, SpaceX's Dragon capsule is expected to dock with the space station on schedule Wednesday. SpaceX completed a test mission in May, but this is its first paid supply run to the space station. What will this trip mean for the future of space flight? Here, a brief guide:

What is SpaceX delivering to the space station?

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