NASA to Pay $1.1 Billion to Three Private Spacecraft Companies

Looking to the private sector after the retirement of the space shuttles.

Now that NASA has mothballed its fleet of space shuttles, the space agency needs a new ride to the International Space Station.

On Friday, NASA handed out $1.1 billion to three companies to privately develop rockets and spacecraft for what could be the next step in manned spaceflight. The announcement was made by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on a cloudless day from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.