US space firm SpaceX resumed its resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, carrying aboard an experimental inflatable space habitat that might be crucial for future deep space explorations.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft lifted off on the company's Falcon 9 rocket on time at 4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT) on time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

This was the California-based company's eighth cargo mission to the ISS. It also marked the first flight of Dragon to the ISS since June, when the Falcon 9 rocket exploded about two minutes after liftoff.