The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rises above the lightning masts carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rises above the lightning masts on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff 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/George Roberts