Spacing Out: Private Spaceflight in America

As NASA put the first man on the moon, the history of American achievement in space exploration is unrivaled except possibly by the Soviet Union.

Today, NASA and other national space organizations face problems about the specifics of modern space travel. The Reagan administration banned commercial payloads from traveling in shuttles after the Challenger disaster, and indecision about the economic purposes of the International Space Station have resulted in multiple costly and lengthy construction changes. Reagan's signing of the Commercial Space Launch Act in 1984, however, legalized payload delivery by private entities. The Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990 allowed NASA to purchase services from private companies as well.

Commercial alternatives are needed to deliver future material into space in order to replace NASA's aging line of space-faring vehicles. Commercialization would both make routine tasks, such as placing satellites into orbit, easier, as well as give the opportunity for tourism. Virgin Galactic has sold tickets promising a ride into space at some point in the near future and has already completed tests nearing the edge of space.

A few other factors have created motivation to privatize space travel.
According to Virgin Galactic,

In 1996, a group of philanthropists and entrepreneurs began to change that by starting an international incentive prize competition, the Ansari XPRIZE. The competition attracted 26 teams from around the world, each attempting to become the first to build and fly a crewed spacecraft capable of carrying at least three astronauts into space twice within two weeks–a task of unparalleled proportions

For this reason, Virgin Galactic had incentive to participate.

On October 4, 2004, SpaceShipOne completed all of the prize requirements and officially won the $10M Ansari XPRIZE. In so doing, it became the first-ever private vehicle to carry a human being into space, making international headlines and stunning a world that had largely written off commercial human spaceflight as pure science fiction.

Just as important, according to Wall of Space.com, has been the entry of entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos into the industry.

Large steps have already been successful. In 2012, the ISS successfully caught SpaceX (Musk's company) Dragon, which was carrying cargo for the space station. American corporations continue to create advancements in the field at a time when the national space agency lacks the opportunities to do so, making space travel and transport more accessible.

Sources:
Andrew Liptak, 2-12-09, "The History (and Future) of Commercial Space Flight," io9, http://io9.com/5148420/the-history-and-future-of-commercial-space-flight
"A Brief History of Human Spaceflight," Virgin Galactic, http://www.virgingalactic.com/human-spaceflight/history-of-human-spaceflight/
Mike Wall,, 10-3-2014, "How SpaceShipOne and X Prize Launched Commercial Spaceflight 10 Years Ago ," Space, http://www.space.com/27339-spaceshipone-xprize-launched-commercial-spaceflight.html
Mariella Moon, 12-4-2015, "What you need to know about commercial spaceflight," Engadget, http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/18/commercial-space-flight-explainer/