Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) is a Hawthorne, California based space transport company. Upon the announcement by NASA, the founder, chief designer, and chief executive officer of SpaceX, Elon Musk, stated, “This is a decisive milestone in human spaceflight and sets an exciting course for the next phase of American space exploration. SpaceX, along with our partners at NASA, will continue to push the boundaries of space technology to develop the safest, most advanced crew vehicle ever flown.”
According to the SpaceX press release NASA Selects SpaceX to Return Americans to Space, "SpaceX expects to undertake its first manned flight by 2015 – a timetable that capitalizes on the proven success of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft combination. While Dragon is initially being used to transport cargo to the International Space Station, both Dragon and Falcon 9 were designed from the beginning to carry crew."
It adds, "Under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative’s base period, SpaceX will make the final modifications necessary to prepare Dragon to safely transport astronauts into space."
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During the next several years, SpaceX will refine and test the various major components of the Dragon spacecraft, including life-support systems and an advanced cockpit design complete with modern human interfaces.
The other two NASA partners for the CCiCap project are the Sierra Nevada Corporation, of Louisville, Colorado; and The Boeing Company, of Houston, Texas.
NASA administrator Charles Bolden remarked on this landmark decision: "Today, we are announcing another critical step toward launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on space systems built by American companies. We have selected three companies that will help keep us on track to end the outsourcing of human spaceflight and create high-paying jobs in Florida and elsewhere across the country."
Watch the video on how SpaceX expects to accomplish this goal at "SpaceX's Vision for Manned Dragon Spacecraft"
