Quietly, the new space race between SpaceX and Boeing burns hot

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Spacecraft completed its pad abort test in May. (credit: SpaceX)

It's been half a century since the United States finally dusted Russia in the space race, as NASA's Gemini program ticked off an unprecedented series of long-duration flights, spacewalks, and in-space rendezvous to put America firmly on course to the Moon.

Today, a new space race has begun. But this modern face-off has some key differences, not the least of which is that America's and Russia's space programs presently depend upon one another. Instead of Cold War-fueled international competition, the modern space race has an all-American flavor with an established company, Boeing, against an upstart, SpaceX. Both firms are developing spacecraft to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, and they hope to do so before the end of 2017.

What once seemed a distant goal is now coming up fast, and it's not clear either company will be ready as their development processes remain largely obscured. Whereas the Cold War space race played out on an international stage with flashy launches that grabbed worldwide attention, the modern, capitalism-fueled version is playing out largely behind the scenes.

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