( CNN ) SpaceX on Tuesday launched a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying an uncrewed cargo spacecraft called Dragon on a flight from Cape Canaveral , Florida , to the International Space Station . That was the easy part . In a difficult bid to land a rocket stage on a floating barge for the first time , the private space exploration company was unsuccessful . SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted : `` Ascent successful . Dragon enroute to Space Station . Rocket landed on droneship , but too hard for survival . '' He later clarified that the rocket landed , but tipped over . SpaceX tried to land a Falcon 9 on the drone ship in January , but the rocket hit at an angle and exploded . SpaceX has said it will keep trying and , after it masters landing at sea , hopes to someday land rockets on the ground . Usually booster rockets burn up in Earth 's atmosphere or , like NASA 's space shuttle boosters , they fall back into the ocean . So why try to land one ? Musk wants to cut costs . On his company 's website , he says that if anyone can figure out how to `` reuse rockets just like airplanes , the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much as a factor of a hundred . '' What about the rest of the rocket and the Dragon ? The smaller , top part of the rocket will carry the Dragon into orbit and then break away from the cargo ship and burn up in Earth 's atmosphere . The Dragon will dock with the space station a couple of days after launch to deliver more than 4,300 pounds ( 1,950 kilograms ) of supplies , including research equipment and ISSpresso , an espresso maker that astronauts can use to make coffee and tea . The space station crew will spend about five weeks unpacking the Dragon . They 'll then stuff it with over 3,000 pounds of science experiments , trash and other stuff to send back to Earth . When they 're done , Dragon will leave the space station and mission controllers will guide it to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off California . This is the sixth SpaceX mission to the International Space Station . The company was the first private space contractor to dock with the station . Tuesday 's launch was the second attempt for this mission . Monday 's planned launch was scrubbed due to weather . CNN 's Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report .
SpaceX founder Elon Musk : `` Rocket landed on droneship , but too hard for survival '' This was the second attempt at historic rocket booster barge landing . Dragon spacecraft will head toward International Space Station on resupply mission .