The first commercial cargo flight to the International Space Station lifted off on Sunday evening, inaugurating a new era for NASA in which private companies will take over the transportation of people and supplies to low-Earth orbit. For this launch, only cargo is going; private transportation for astronauts is still several years away. Space Exploration Technologies of Hawthorne, Calif. — SpaceX, for short — launched its Falcon 9 rocket on schedule at 8:35 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral, Fla.