 First time since the space shuttle program ended that U.S. astronauts will launch into space aboard an American rocket from American soil. Also new, a private company, not NASA, is running the show. Elon Musk's SpaceX is the conductor and NASA the customer as businesses begin chauffeuring astronauts to the International Space Station. With the American shuttles no longer in use, the U.S. has had to rely on Russia for rides to the station.