A SpaceX rocket carrying an unmanned crew capsule successfully launched from Cape Canaveral early Saturday, destined for the International Space Station, according to Reuters. The launch marks a watershed moment for Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk’s space company which, along with Boeing, was hired by NASA to send astronauts into space from the U.S. after space shuttle service ended in 2011. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 2:49 a.m., carrying a 16-foot-tall Crew Dragon Capsule. The capsule transported a test dummy named “Ripley,” a nod to Alien director Ridley Scott, per Reuters. Eleven minutes after the launch, the capsule separated from the rocket without incident, subsequently beginning its travel to the $100-billion space station.“I’m a little emotionally exhausted because that was super stressful, but it worked,” Musk reportedly said after the launch.
