'It's a go': Elon Musk blasts two astronauts into space in historic Spacex launch to the ISS bringing back manned spaceflight to America for the first time in NINE years as Trump watches from pad

• NASA and SpaceX have launched the Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station
• Astronauts  Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley took off in Crew Dragon atop Falcon 9 at 3.22pm Eastern Time
• This was the second attempt of Launch America - the initial launch was scrubbed Wed. due to poor weather 
• Falcon 9 has been retrieved by SpaceX's autonomous drone ship and Crew Dragon is heading to the ISS 
• Hurley and Behnken are set to dock with the ISS in 24 hours where they will join the Expedition 63 crew

NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX have officially brought spaceflight back to US with the successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley took off from Launch Complex 39A at 3:22pm Saturday – the first time in nine years an American crew has launched from US soil. 

'Let's light this candle,' commander Hurley said just before liftoff. 

There was a 50 percent chance Falcon 9 would not take off today due to ominous clouds and lightning risks, but the weather cleared with just 45 minutes left on the clock countdown.

The Launch America mission is also the first time a private company has put astronauts into space and is the second attempt to launch after Wednesday's flight was aborted due to poor weather conditions. 

After reaching orbit, Falcon 9 successfully returned to Earth and was retrieved by SpaceX's autonomous spaceport drone ship 'I Still Love You.'

The Crew Dragon is now taking the 19-hour journey to the International Space Station, where Behnken and Hurley will join the Expedition 63 crew.

The International Space Station was only accessible to NASA astronauts through the purchase of seats on Russian capsules launched from Kazakhstan - but that has all changed as of today. 

NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX have officially brought spaceflight back to US soil

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a press conference, 'Maybe there´s an opportunity here for America to maybe pause and look up and see a bright, shining moment of hope at what the future looks like, that the United States of America can do extraordinary things even in difficult times.' 

Among the spectators was Neil Wight, a machinist from Buffalo, New York, who staked out a view of the launch pad from a park in Titusville, Florida.

'It's pretty historically significant in my book and a lot of other people´s books. With everything that´s going on in this country right now, it´s important that we do things extraordinary in life,' Wight said.

'We've been bombarded with doom and gloom for the last six, eight weeks, whatever it is, and this is awesome. It brings a lot of people together.' 

Crew Dragon should be in position to dock with the ISS about 24 hours after takeoff and will connect to the ship autonomously.

Falcon 9 took off at 3.22pm ET and took the nine minute trip into Earth's orbit 

After successfully docking, Behnken and Hurley will join the other members on the space station and become part of the Expedition 63 crew. 

The two men are scheduled to  stay up to four months, after which they will come home with a Right Stuff-style splashdown at sea. 

'I would be lying to you if I told you I wasn't nervous,' Bridenstine said before the launch attempt. 'We want to do everything we can to minimize the risk, minimize the uncertainty, so that Bob and Doug will be safe.'

NASA urged people to stay safe and watch from home due to the coronavirus, and by NASA's count, over 3 million viewers tuned in online.   

However, spectators began lining the Cape Canaveral area´s beaches and roads with signs along the main beach drag that read 'Godspeed.' 

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence returned to Kennedy Space Center to watch the second attempt of Launch America, which finally brought spaceflight back to US soil.

'That was a beautiful sight to see and I hope you all enjoyed it,' Trump said shortly after the rocket ship designed and built by Elon Musk´s SpaceX company lifted off for a trip to the International Space Station.

Spectators watched the Falcon 9 rocket take off from Kennedy Space Center from a nearby beach

Both NASA and SpaceX said they would be 'proceeding with countdown' despite a 50 percent 'weather cancellation risk' amid concerns over possible thunderstorms and rain around the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral early Saturday morning.

Bridenstine said during an afternoon briefing: 'We are predicting a 50, 50 shot of going this time.'

'But because we are in late May, we have to take any shot we can get.'

'We almost made it on Wednesday and the trend is better today than it was on Wednesday.' 

The biggest concern was lighting, precipitation, cumulus clouds and anvil clouds - all of which could ground Falcon 9 until Sunday.

However, about 45 minutes to launch, all requirements went from red to green and a SpaceX official said 'weather is a go.' 

The launch pad where Falcon 9 took off from is the same one used by NASA's last space shuttle flight, piloted by Hurley, in 2011. 

Since then, NASA astronauts have had to hitch rides into orbit aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft. 

Earlier today, Behnken and Hurley had a social distancing farewell with their families who met them outside of the Kennedy crew quarters before they took the journey to Launch Complex 39A.

Due to the policy, the team had to stand six-feet from their wives and children and say goodbye with air hugs. 

Before saying goodbye, Behnken and Hurley suited up in the new spacesuits developed by Musk with the help of costume designer Jose Fernandez with envisioning the prototype.

Fernandez, who has worked on 'The Avengers' and 'X-Men', revealed that Musk wanted the crew to look better in the suit than without it, 'like a tux.' 

'Musk kept saying, anyone looks better in a tux, no matter what size or shape they are,' he said in an interview with Bleep.

'I personally spent a lot of time — it took us three, almost four years to design these suits that both look good and work well,' Musk said during NASA's live coverage of the launch attempt on Wednesday.

The SpaceX suits have been jointly designed by a Hollywood costume designer and by Musk himself (pictured: Matt Damon in 2015's The Martian; and NASA astronaut Bob Behnken wearing the SpaceX suit, right)

Hurley said: 'We could see some raindrops on the windows and just figured that whatever it was, was too close to the launch pad at the time we needed it not to be.

'Understand that everybody´s probably a little bit bummed out. That´s just part of the deal. ... We'll do it again, I think, on Saturday.' 

The SpaceX demo-2 mission will see the Falcon 9 rocket and attached Crew Dragon capsule shoot into space as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. 

If successful, it will pave the way for future partnerships between NASA and commercial companies, and a new age of space travel.    

SpaceX's fourth Starship rocket prototype EXPLODES into a ball of flames following a pressurized test one day before their Falcon 9 rocket is set to blast off for the ISS 

Elon Musk's prototype space rocket exploded in a massive fireball before it left the ground last night.

The eccentric billionaire was testing his company SpaceX's Starship rocket in Texas when the vehicle burst into flames after failing an engine test.

The explosion happened a few minutes after SpaceX ignited the vehicle's engine which then became engulfed in flames. It could be seen in a live stream recorded by Nasa's website. There was no indication of any injuries.

This was the fourth prototype of SpaceX's next generation rocket which is part of Mr Musk's ambitions to make human space travel affordable.

The company has lost three previous versions of the vehicle during pressurised tests that caused the space rockets to burst or implode.

It comes after SpaceX's attempt to launch two Nasa astronauts to the International Space Station on Wednesday was called off due to bad weather. 

The prototype Serial Number 4 vanished into a fireball at SpaceX's Boca Chica site in Texas Friday shortly the engine was ignited for a pressurized test

And in seconds was engulfed in a ball of flames. The SN4 had passed several important milestones during development, including a pressurization test that had foiled previous models