In December, SpaceX scrubbed the rocket's maiden launch only 15 minutes before blastoff.

FORBES: The New Space Race

Earlier, Russian Aerospace Agency director Yuri Koptev said that a crew of two cosmonauts was getting ready for blastoff in case of an emergency.

BBC: You are in: Sci/Tech

The dispute over the timing of the blastoff followed a long wrangle over whether a tourist should go to the space station at all.

CNN: Space tourist feels 'great' in orbit