An illustration of a private U.S. lander on the surface of the moon built by Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace. The company’s Blue Ghost lander is carrying a suite of scientific instruments to the moon, including an experiment to detect and use GPS satellite signals on the lunar surface.

The mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 1:11 a.m. ET. Blue Ghost separated from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2:17 a.m. ET and established communications with Firefly's Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas, at 2:26 a.m. ET.

The spacecraft built and operated by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace launched in the early Monday hours from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket.