This is history. MAJOR history.

The SpaceX Corporation's privately built Falcon 9 rocket sent an unmanned Dragon capsule into orbit early this morning, loaded with supplies for the International Space Station.

If all goes well, on Friday Dragon will become the first private vehicle to dock with the ISS. SpaceX would then use the Falcon 9/Dragon combination to deliver supplies to the station on a regular basis.

SpaceShipOne, piloted by astronaut Mike Melville, became the first private vessel to carry a human being into space in a 2004 sub-orbital flight. Dragon could carry the first privately-launched astronauts into orbit. Soon, the combination may be ferrying astronauts to the ISS and back to Earth, a privately owned and operated replacement for the Space Shuttle.

The reusable Dragon will return to Earth May 31.

HT: Drudge