NASA Chooses American SpaceX and Boeing to Ferry Astronauts into Space

Private companies in the United States may just be saving the American space industry. NASA has announced that U.S. astronauts will travel to and from the International Space Station on American spacecraft provided by Boeing and SpaceX.

"From day one, the Obama Administration made clear that the greatest nation on Earth should not be dependent on other nations to get into space," said Charlie Bolden, NASA administrator, in a news release. "Thanks to the leadership of President Obama, the hard work of our NASA and industry teams, and support from Congress, today we are one step closer to launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on American spacecraft and ending the nation's sole reliance on Russia by 2017. Turning over low-earth orbit transportation to private industry will also allow NASA to focus on an even more ambitious mission-sending humans to Mars."

Currently, the two selected companies, Boeing and SpaceX, will be responsible for flying astronauts to the space station. Currently, NASA's team of engineers and spaceflight specialists are helping certify the development work of industry partners in order to ensure the new spacecraft that will ferry astronauts into space are both safe and reliable.

"We are excited to see our industry partners close in on operational flights to the International Space Station, an extraordinary feat industry and the NASA family began just four years ago," said Kathy Lueders, manaster of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

NASA has long relied on Russia in order to send astronauts to the space station. Yet by encouraging private companies, the space agency is getting around that issue. Not only that, but as private companies improve technologies, it's possible that they can eventually partner with NASA to send humans to Mars.

Want to learn more about NASA's Commercial Crew Program? You can find out more about it on NASA's website.