Space travel is about to change. Sometime soon, as early as next year, the world’s first private, crewed spaceship will take off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and head for the International Space Station.

NASA is trying something new: opening space exploration to private corporations and astronauts

The 21st century space race begins not as a contest between global superpowers but as a competition between companies. Boeing and SpaceX are the first rivals, building spacecraft to fly six crewed NASA missions each to the ISS. As long as their spaceships meet NASA requirements, the companies have had free rein to design and manufacture them however they want, within a fixed government budget. Critically, Boeing and SpaceX will own and operate their spacecraft themselves, free to sell flights to other countries, companies, and even individuals.

Read More at Air & Space

Read the rest at Air & Space