Bill Ingalls / NASA

SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, makes remarks at the microphone while NASA Administrator Charles Bolden sizes up the company's Dragon capsule on Wednesday at the SpaceX rocket test facility in McGregor, Texas. Wednesday's gathering marked the handover of the Dragon's cargo to NASA after last month's historic commercial mission to the International Space Station.

By Alan Boyle

In the wake of a history-making commercial space mission, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, met up in Texas today for a close-up look at the company's recently returned Dragon space capsule and the official handover of more than a half-ton of cargo that came back to Earth on the craft. Musk also got in a little Texas-style politicking on the side.

The SpaceX Dragon's trip to the International Space Station last month marked the first time a privately built craft made an orbital stopover. The Dragon is currently the only type of spaceship on the planet capable of bringing significant amounts of cargo back from the station up to 3 tons' worth. This time around, it returned 1,367 pounds (621 kilograms) of non-critical cargo, including scientific experiments as well as equipment and spacewalk gear that was no longer needed.

The handover at SpaceX's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas, meant that the space agency and the 10-year-old company could check off the last major milestone on their list for the demonstration mission. And that, in turn, opens the way for SpaceX to start ferrying cargo to the station on a regular basis under the terms of a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The first of 12 missions is tentatively planned for September.

Today's meeting gave Bolden and Musk an opportunity to thank the more than 150 SpaceX employees working at the McGregor facility and get a good look at the Dragon. The Associated Press quoted Musk as saying the craft looked "almost untouched," while Bolden said the capsule was "beaten up" during re-entry.

"The Dragon capsule is a tangible example of the new era of exploration unfolding right now," Bolden was quoted as saying in a NASA report about the Texas meet-up. "Commercial space is becoming a reality as SpaceX looks ahead to future missions to the space station and other destinations. All of NASA's partners in the commercial crew and cargo programs continue to meet milestones designing the next generation of innovative U.S.spacecraft destined for low Earth orbit. In addition, NASA centers across the country are making exciting progress on the vehicles that will take astronauts to farther destinations like an asteroid and Mars. I congratulate Elon Musk and the SpaceX team again for this historic milestone."

Bill Ingalls / NASA

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, congratulates SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk in front of the Dragon capsule during Wednesday's meeting at the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas.

Originally posted here:

NASA's chief visits the Dragon's lair