SpaceX Launch

With the retirement of the space shuttle, the ISS is being resupplied by Russia and now a first launch by a commercial rocket company SpaceX.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18165913

So the start of a new era of commercial space flight, it clearly has been coming for several years - and maybe manned flight is not so far away. The question of what NASA concentrates on, pure research and exploration - private industry can concentrate on lucrative satellite and low earth orbit applications. The launch seems to be a joint partnership with NASA - who are presumably providing the launch control.