A privately owned rocket built in partnership with NASA to haul cargo to the International Space Station blasted off on Sunday for a debut test flight from a new commercial spaceport in Virginia.

The 13-story Antares rocket, developed and flown by Orbital Sciences Corp, lifted off at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) from a Virginia-owned and operated launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.

“Beautiful view,” said NASA launch commentator Kyle Herring as live video from the rocket, broadcast on NASA TV, showed the booster riding atop a bright plume of fire above the Atlantic Ocean.

Ten minutes later, the rocket deposited its payload – a 8,380-pound (3,800-kg) dummy capsule – into an orbit 158 miles above the planet, fulfilling the primary goal of the test flight.

Orbital Sciences and privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, hold NASA contracts worth a combined $3.5 billion to fly cargo to the space station, a $100 billion research outpost that flies about 250 miles above Earth.

NASA turned to commercial suppliers after retiring the space shuttles in 2011.

Flight controllers radioed news of Antares’ successful debut to the station crew shortly after launch.

“Wahoo, that’s super,” replied station commander Chris Hadfield, with the Canadian Space Agency.

“Congratulations to all concerned. That bodes well for all of our futures,” Hadfield said.

On its next flight, scheduled for late June or early July, another Antares rocket will carry a Cygnus cargo ship on a demonstration mission to the station.

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Courtesy Reuters.com