Falcon 9 launched Dragon spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon cargo spacecraft toward the International Space Station on Monday at 4:30pm.  

From Jetty Park, families and spectators saw a bright light sailing into the sky followed by a rumble that rolled in across the water.

Watch the launch below.

The Kennedy Space Center reported that it had to shut down their parking lot due to capacity limits because of so many visitors here on Spring Break and the great interest in the SpaceX mission. 

Inside the Dragon cargo spacecraft that is now on its way to the International Space Station, there are nearly three tons of experiments and supplies. 

Those items will help astronauts perform 50 experiments in space. 

Some of the experiments will study plant growth to see what could one day feed astronauts while traveling through deep space. 

Another experiment will study thunderstorms in Earth’s atmosphere. 

One young spectator said she thought it was really cool to see so many experiments go into space and described the experience. 

“I thought it was cool because it left a trail of smoke and flame coming out the back of it and also it sounded cool because there was a rumble and as it went up higher it went up louder and louder too,” Chloe Bishir said. 

Unlike some of the previous launches, this one will not see the Falcon 9 rocket make a return landing.

The Dragon spacecraft will spend about one month in space and then return to Earth in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.