Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Virginia, and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, have secured contracts from NASA to ferry cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) from 2010.

The contracts, which could each be worth up to US$3.1 billion, will see the private carriers supply 40–70% of the space station's US cargo each year until the end of 2016. The firms will be stepping into the breach left when NASA retires its space shuttles in 2010.

In September 2008, SpaceX launched the first privately developed liquid-fuel rocket and its cargo into low Earth orbit. The company's ISS deliveries will probably be made with Falcon 9, a larger version of the rocket, which is expected to make its first launch within months.