KSC-2014-2206

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A blinding flash of light under the Falcon 9 rocket signals engine ignition and liftoff of the SpaceX-3 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, sending the Dragon resupply spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station. Launch was during an instantaneous window at 3:25 p.m. EDT. Dragon is making its fourth trip to the space station. The SpaceX-3 mission, carrying almost 2.5 tons of supplies, technology and science experiments, is the third of 12 flights through a $1.6 billion NASA Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon's cargo will support more than 150 experiments that will be conducted during the station's Expeditions 39 and 40. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray