The United States’ space programme is at a critical juncture. Between 1971 and 2011, spending on space has declined from 5% of the federal budget to 0.5%. The US government recently announced it has cancelled its Constellation human spaceflight programme, which was intended to provide transportation to the International Space Station (ISS). Instead, NASA will shift its emphasis to developing new technologies and commercializing space flight. NASA will outsource its transportation to the ISS – a move designed to dramatically reduce launch costs. Five private companies – nearly all of which are headed by internet entrepreneurs – are sharing $50 million of federal funds to develop cargo spacecraft. NASA’s new vision has not been met by enthusiasm from all quarters, with critics calling it the death knell of America’s former supremacy in space travel. Politicians whose states are losing out on jobs as a result of NASA’s cancelled programmes have been among the most vocal critics. With entrepreneurs racing to achieve human spaceflight, the next American to land on the moon could be a commercial passenger rather than a NASA astronaut.