Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully orbited and recovered its first Dragon space capsule today. This marks the first time a private company has successfully returned an orbiting spacecraft to earth.

SpaceX is developing the Dragon to carry cargo to the International Space Station as part of the NASA's commercial orbital transportation system ( COTS) program. With addition of a launch abort system, Dragon can also carry up to seven people into orbit.

While not an optimum design for an orbital tourism vehicle, the Dragon now exists as a flight-proven reality that SpaceX claims can carry people for less cost than the venerable Russian Soyuz.