 This is the VOA Special English Economics Report. Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, may be a company to watch in the coming years. On Tuesday, May 22nd, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The privately built and owned Dragon spacecraft was loaded with more than 500 kilograms of supplies for the International Space Station. The Dragon linked up with the space station after a three-day flight. America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration is moving to private companies for services like bringing supplies to the space station. NASA official Bill Gerstenmeier spoke to reporters after the launch. He said the space agency has already signed a contract with SpaceX for the company's services on 12 flights. The agreement is worth $1.6 billion. Mr. Gerstenmeier said the United States no longer pays Russia to carry out such operations. SpaceX is based in Hawthorne, California. Elon Musk started the company in 2002, but it is not the first company founded by the South African-born businessman. He also started the Internet Payment Service PayPal, which is now owned by online auction store eBay. His other company, Tesla Motors, makes electric cars. Elon Musk has likened modern space travel to where Internet technology was in the 1990s. At that time, businesses were just starting to think about how to sell goods and services on the worldwide web. Today, billions of dollars in goods and services are sold online. But after the launch, Mr. Musk tried to keep his attention on the job at hand. He said the immediate goal for SpaceX is to bring supplies to the space station. After that, he thinks the company will work toward improving its rocket technology. He said a major development would be to make what he calls a full and rapidly reusable rocket. The Dragon spacecraft is designed to be able to carry both astronauts and cargo. SpaceX says it has 40 launches planned over the next few years and contracts worth $4 billion. It says 60% of its upcoming flights are for businesses, not the government. For VOA Special English, I'm Carolyn Presuti. You can read, listen, and learn English with more stories about business and other subjects at voaspecialenglish.com.