SpaceX launches Dragon cargo ship to space station with fresh food, science gear and Girl Scout experiments

Ending a two-month launch drought, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket boosted a Dragon cargo ship into orbit early Sunday for the company's 23rd supply run to the International Space Station, this one carrying 4,300 pounds of equipment, science gear, food and other supplies.

Running 24 hours late because of stormy weather, the countdown ticked smoothly to zero and the nine Merlin engines in the Falcon's first stage ignited on schedule at 3:14 a.m. EDT, pushing the rocket away from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center atop 1.7 million pounds of thrust. The first stage, making its fourth flight, powered the vehicle out of the thick lower atmosphere and then fell away, handing off to the rocket's second stage to continue the climb to space.