SpaceX makes history by completing first private capsule mission

I watched the re-entry and recovery this morning and was just as impressed with this as I am in awe of the import of being able to do this by a company.

Think about this for a moment, SpaceX is on the verge of having a capsule that they can send into orbit for days and then return to Earth. The same company has rockets capable of putting tons of material into every orbit level (Low, mid, and geo-stationary). The same company is nearing completion of their own launch facility in Texas.

Put all those things together and SpaceX can do space 'tourism' with a design parameter of "Go up into orbit, spend the day doing micro-gravity kinds of things, and then come back for BBQ." They have the capability to launch one of Bigelow's inflatable habitats and leave it up there as a rendezvous target for Dragon in an orbit that could support monthly launch windows. Using a launch facility where they control the scheduling so none of the wrangling with a dozen different groups every time they fly. That is a mind boggling capability for a company to have today.