NASA successfully launched the Orion spacecraft Friday morning at 7:04 a.m. ESTafter experiencing a setback Thursday. Delays from weather, technical issues with several of Orion’s valves and a boat in waters too close to the launch pad caused the space agency to postpone the launch.

Friday’s forecast wasn't ideal, with cloudy conditions and light winds, but it was a mild morning with temperatures in the lower 70s. NASA decided early in the launch window that the conditions would be good enough to launch the rocket.

Despite the size of the Delta IV Heavy rocket, which carried Orion into space, strong gusts can push the machine, said Dan Collins of Delta’s owner United Launch Alliance, during a news conference Dec. 4. “Which side of the rocket that wind is blowing off, it’s either blowing on a knife or it’s blowing on a garage door. It makes a big difference,” he added. “If there is a wind, [the rocket] will start to drift.”

No astronauts were aboard Orion today. It’s an unmanned mission, the purpose of which is to test the spacecraft’s ability to travel to parts of space we’ve never before been. “It can go basically anywhere. It’s not destination-specific,” said astronaut Rex Walheim during a pre-launch briefing Wednesday. “It’s really got some incredible capabilities.”

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Some of those include a bigger crew module, the capacity to carry four people for 21 days, a stronger heat shield and the ability to better handle emergencies in space. After Orion launches, it will travel 3,600 miles beyond Earth.

“During the 4.5-hour flight, Orion will travel farther than any crewed spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years, before reentering Earth’s atmosphere at speeds near 20,000 mph and generating temperatures up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Orion will land in the Pacific Ocean where the U.S. Navy and NASA … will recover the spacecraft,” notes a Kennedy Space Center post. “The Orion Flight Test will evaluate launch and high speed reentry systems such as avionics, attitude control, parachutes and the heat shield.”

Walheim couldn’t help but express his excitement about Orion. “It’s gonna be a game-changer,” he said. “It really is.” Now that it’s launched, it’s time to wait and see.

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April 24 marks the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Telescope. To celebrate, NASA and the European Space Agency, which jointly run the telecope, released this image of the star cluster Westerlund 2. (NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/A. Nota/Westerlund 2 Science Team)