



About four minutes after the lift-off of the Falcon 9 rocket, flight controllers announced that the first stage successfully separated from the second stage .

The separation was nominal, with no known problems. The rocket continues for its goal of orbit about the Earth.

SpaceX hopes that this test mission into space will lead to a productive partnership with NASA and the U.S. unmanned and manned exploration of space.



Earlier in the day, at 7:57 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), the personnel at the mission control center for the Falcon 9 rocket found that the software for the mission had indicated a 'pad abort involving an out-of-limit startup parameter.'



The controllers had to investigate the problem. The problem was ultimately resolved and the launch clock was reset.



Later, the first launch attempt of the rocket was aborted at T-6 seconds (six seconds before the launch) because of a failure in one of the systems. The rocket was shut down safely, as it was designed to do.



The clock was recycled, and the countdown resumed as before for its ultimate launch at 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT).