Watch a time-lapse of the Crew Dragon access arm installation (members only)

The planned flight came two days after SpaceX scrubbed a launch attempt on Wednesday amid fueling. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 10:44 a.m. PST (1:44 p.m. EST / 1844 UTC).

Weather forecasters at Cape Canaveral are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Hermine in the Gulf of Mexico in case winds and thick clouds from the cyclone threaten the scheduled launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday.

NASA officials cleared Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for flight Thursday after a “thorough and comprehensive” review of the crew capsule’s readiness, setting the stage for final pre-launch preparations at Cape Canaveral ahead of liftoff Dec. 20 on an unpiloted demonstration mission to the International Space Station.