The sky’s the limit for commercial spaceflights

01/06/12 07:13 CET

world news

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The future of commercial spaceflights is bright – according to one of the main figures behind the first privately developed ship to travel to the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Dragon landed back on Earth on Thursday after going where no private company had gone before.

SpaceX founder, Elan Musk, said: “It really shows that commercial spaceflight can be successful. This mission worked for the first time right out of the gate. All phases of the mission were successful and it was done in close partnership with NASA.”

NASA sees companies like SpaceX as a cheaper alternative to building and operating a government-owned replacement for its Space Shuttles which were retired last year.

SpaceX now hopes to secure a 1.3 billion euro contract to supply the ISS.

More about: ISS, NASA, Space exploration, Space mission

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