SpaceX Dragon capsule
The first-ever commercial spacecraft to leave and return to Earth explained
When the NASA Space Shuttle was retired in 2011, several different companies competed to become NASA’s new choice for cargo and crew transportation to the International Space Station (ISS) - and possibly beyond.
In 2006 and 2008 NASA awarded the private company SpaceX two contracts totalling roughly $2 billion (£1.59 billion), paving the way for the Dragon capsule to complete its first successful orbit and re-entry in December 2010.