NASA is a step closer to launching astronauts from American soil again.

The space agency announced Tuesday that Boeing and Space-x will ferry crew members to the International Space Station starting in 2017.

Right now, the United States pays Russia $70 million per seat for the ride into orbit. The new agreement also helps NASA's other mission: returning to deep space, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

NASA's new Orion spacecraft is located 65 miles out in the Pacific Ocean. It's designed to take American astronauts back into deep space.

Orion capsule

Radislav Sinyak

"It will be the first time in 40 years that this nation, the most powerful nation in the world, has ever designed and built a spacecraft intended to carry humans beyond low earth orbit, and that's a big, big deal," said Charles Boden, head of NASA.

Boden was on board the Navy ship to oversee a test run of recovering Orion after it comes back to Earth. And if it all sounds a bit familiar, it should; Orion is the distant relative of Apollo, which also touched down in the Pacific.

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NASA sets its sights back on deep space