A SpaceX Falcon rocket blasted off on Sunday from a Florida launchpad once used to send NASA astronauts to the moon, a step forward for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and his company's goal of ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station.

The 70-meter Falcon 9 soared off a seaside launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center at 9:39 am carrying a Dragon cargo ship that holds supplies and science experiments for the station.

The Falcon 9's first and second stage separated about 2.5 minutes into Sunday's launch. As the first stage flew back for its touchdown, the second stage continued to power Dragon to orbit.