SpaceX has successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule at 3:44 AM eastern time in the US carrying the ashes of Star Trek's Scotty, according to The Telegraph.

The successful launch comes after an earlier aborted attempt on 19 May. Technical problems kept the previous launch attempt grounded, but the historic SpaceX flight is now on its way to the international space station.

The ashes of Star Trek actor James Doohan, who played Scotty in the original series have been blasted into space along with those of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper and 306 others, according to ABC news.

The launch marks the first commercial launch to the the ISS, and one giant leap

The flight is designed to test that the unmanned Dragon capsule, which could then be used to carry cargo to the ISS.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully reached orbit, and its solar fuel arrays were deployed.

As Nasa winds back its own launch operations, this flights marks a milestone in commercial collaborations under Nasa's commercial orbital transportation services contract.

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