Vega Aerospace Corporation is an American SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES (SPACEX) Company: SpaceX Spaceship name: Dragon spacecraft/Falcon 9 rocket. Number of passengers: 7 maximum, or fewer with a mixture of cargo/crew Founder(s): Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal Founding: 2002 Backing: $100 million of Musk personal fortune, $20 million from investors Location: Hawthrone, California. Launched from Kennedy Space Center, FL. Plans to launch: Debut launch tests in 2010, 1st operational flights in 2011. Contracts: US Govt/NASA. ORBITAL SCIENCES Spaceship name: Cygnus/Taurus 2 rocket Founding: 1982 BLUE ORIGIN