SpaceX launched one of its Falcon 9 rockets on Sunday, only to watch it erupt in a ball of fire.<\/p>\n
But the explosion was intentional and went exactly as planned. It was the final step in a long process of testing the company's Crew Dragon capsule a spaceship designed to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.<\/p>\n
Boeing has designed a similar spacecraft, and the two companies are racing to fly NASA astronauts on US-made spacecraft for the first time in nearly a decade.<\/p>\n
Since NASA ended its space-shuttle program in 2011, the agency has relied exclusively on Russia to ferry its astronauts to and from orbit in Soyuz spacecraft. But those seats have gotten increasingly expensive: A single round-trip seat now costs NASA about $85 million. So the space agency launched its Commercial Crew program to spur the development of new American-made spacecraft.<\/p>\n
The program put private companies in competition for billions of dollars' worth of government contracts. SpaceX and Boeing came out on top.<\/p>\n
SpaceX's latest test has teed Elon Musk's rocket company up to launch its first-ever human passengers this spring.<\/p>\n
\"This critical test puts us on the cusp of once again launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil,\" Jim Bridenstine, NASA's administrator, tweeted shortly after the mission.<\/p>\n
Here's how SpaceX and Boeing became NASA's best shot at resurrecting American spaceflight.<\/p>\n
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\nHow SpaceX and Boeing became NASA's best shot to revive US spaceflight - Business Insider<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"