SpaceX made history Friday as the first private company to
successfully reach an orbiting space station -- but its
competitors aren't far behind. Blue Origin, the commercial space
outfit founded by Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos, has been wind-tunnel
testing its Space Vehicle capsule, which is designed to carry up
to seven astronauts to the International Space Station, much
like SpaceX's Dragon capsule. Another company, Sierra Nevada, is
preparing to dangle a test version of its shuttle-like Dream
Chaser from helicopters later this year to find out how well it
slips through the air. The sleek spacecraft - which could lift
off as soon as 2016 or 2017 - is designed to launch atop a
powerful Atlas V rocket and then use its wings to fly back to
Earth for a runway landing. And a fourth private firm called
Orbital Sciences Corp. is planning its first launch later in the
year. SpaceX's achievement crosses an important threshold in
America's shift toward a commercially led space industry. The
door is opening to cheaper, mor