An unmanned Antares rocket blasted off on Monday with a cargo ship for the International Space Station, marking the booster's return to flight two years after a previous version exploded at liftoff.

The 14-story rocket, powered by a pair of new Russian-made engines, lifted off from Wallops Island, Virginia, at 7:45 pm, a NASA TV broadcast showed. Launch was delayed five minutes to give the team extra time to review their checklists, said Orbital ATK Inc, which owns the rocket.

"It's such a feeling of elation to see the vehicle take off ... I'm very happy to see Antares back," said Amanda Davis, Orbital's director of program engineering.