SpaceX, a US company, has made history by being the first private enterprise to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket took off on Tuesday from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It then released its cargo in a Dragon capsule which will take approximately 24 hours to reach the orbit of the ISS.

It will perform a number of tasks and test manoeuvres in orbit before docking with the space station on Friday. If all goes accordingly to plan and schedule, SpaceX will be at the forefront of companies vying for transport contracts in space.