The Dragon V2 stands on a stage inside SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne near a spacecraft that flew a previous mission.

The Dragon V2 stands on a stage inside SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., near a suspended cargo-carrying Dragon spacecraft that flew a previous mission. The new spacecraft, the Dragon V2, is designed to carry people into Earth's orbit and was developed in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability agreement. SpaceX is one of NASA's commercial partners working to develop a new generation of U.S. spacecraft and rockets capable of transporting humans to and from Earth's orbit from American soil. Ultimately, NASA intends to use such commercial systems to fly U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis