SpaceX Rocket Makes It To Space Without Exploding

A SpaceX rocket that left the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday evening made it into orbit without a hitch after the company lost two spacecraft in its last two launches.

A Falcon 9 rocket carried NASA astronauts on a rescue mission to the International Space Station, where two people have been marooned since last year.

The flight was scheduled for Thursday but was postponed due to a reported equipment issue.

The rocket left South Florida and the Earth’s atmosphere just before 7:10 p.m. ET Friday night. CNN covered the flight in its entirety.

Astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams boarded the ISS last June for a week-long visit but have been aboard since after their Boeing spacecraft was deemed unsafe.

SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk have faced scrutiny in recent weeks after a second Starship rocket exploded after takeoff for the second time in six weeks on March 6.

The Associated Press reported after the second explosion:

The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket blasted off from Texas. SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, but engines on the spacecraft on top started shutting down as it streaked eastward for what was supposed to be a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean, half a world away. Contact was lost less than 10 minutes into the flight as the spacecraft went into an out-of-control spin.

Starship reached nearly 90 miles (150 kilometers) in altitude before trouble struck and before four mock satellites could be deployed. It was not immediately clear where it came down, but images of flaming debris were captured from Florida, including near Cape Canaveral, and posted online.

On Jan. 17, another SpaceX Starship broke apart near the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Watch above via CNN.