Rocket Road

摘要

When NASA stops flying the space shuttles later this year, the United States will no longer have a vehicle to carry humans to space—unless commercial industry can fill the gap. Last year, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) became the first company to send a spacecraft into low Earth orbit and have it reënter the atmosphere. The flight is part of a partnership with NASA, which has awarded SpaceX $1.6 billion for at least 12 flights to carry cargo to the International Space Station. But SpaceX's goal is something far greater: a NASA contract to carry humans to space.