大象传媒

It's been second time lucky for Elon Musk's SpaceX - after earlier calling off the launch of the Falcon 9 spacecraft two days ago they have now successfully put the Odyssey lunar lander into orbit.

The destination is, of course, the moon but we won't know if the mission is successful until it gets there in nine days.

This whole enterprise is a collaboration between SpaceX, a company called Intuitive Machines who've made the lunar lander... and NASA.

If it works, it will only be the sixth successful moon landing in history... and the first achieved by a private company.

Retired astronaut Jose Hernandez told Newsday it was a "perfect launch".

"Thanks to SpaceX the launch is the least difficult part. The most difficult part is actually sticking the lander on the surface of the moon."

(Pic: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on the IM-1 mission with the Nova-C moon lander built and owned by Intuitive Machines from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US; Credit: Reuters)

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