The United States is currently reliant on Russian rockets to send astronauts into orbit at a cost of $63 million a time.
Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden said: “The significance of this day cannot be overstated. It’s a great day for America. It’s actually a great day for the world because there are people who thought that we had gone away.”
The Dragon capsule is due to reach the space station on Thursday and will dock the following day, when it will be snagged by a robotic arm.
It will remain there for a week before bringing back experiments and equipment and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
If the mission is successful SpaceX will begin a $1.6 billion contract with Nasa for 12 more cargo flights.
According to one government study a similar space programme would have cost four to 10 times as much had it been developed by Nasa, rather than commercially.
John Holdren, President Barack Obama’s chief science adviser, said: “This expanded role for the private sector will free up more of Nasa’s resources to do what Nasa does best, tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space including those of human space flight beyond low Earth orbit.”
The SpaceX rocket also had on board the remains of 308 people whose families paid $3,000 each to send them into orbit. They included the remains of James Doohan, the actor who played engineer “Scotty” in Star Trek.
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