Space travel is not just for governments anymore. Now, companies and other non-government groups can go to space too. This is called private spaceflight, and it is different from when only governments like the USA or Russia could do it. Some new space companies are building and flying their own spaceships. They can send robots and even people into space. They can also help put satellites into orbit and take tourists to space! They are always thinking of new ideas to make space travel better. There are more companies now, and this makes things better and cheaper. More people can do science in space or start new space businesses. Some people are also paying to go to space themselves. But, there are things to think about like space trash and who should be allowed to use space. There are some big companies doing a lot of this work. Some of them are called SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic. They are launching rockets and taking people on trips to space. In the past, only big countries could send things to space. They used to send astronauts who were usually in the military. Regular people or companies couldn't go to space. But now, that has changed.

The International Space Station is a very big place in space where people from different countries work together. These countries are the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe, and Canada. This space station is very high in the sky and goes around the Earth fast. It takes about 93 minutes to go all the way around. The space station has parts for doing science experiments, living, keeping things, and docking spaceships. People have been living on the space station all the time for more than 23 years. So far, 279 people from 22 different countries have been there. It will get some new parts and will stay in space until 2031. Then, it will come back to Earth with help from a special spaceship. The space station was made because the United States and Russia both wanted to have places in space for doing important work. The first part of the space station went into space in 1998, and the first people to live there came in the year 2000. They used big rockets and space shuttles to send up all the parts of the space station.

There is a space rocket called Falcon 9 made by a company named SpaceX in America. It can take things and people up to space. It first went to space on June 4, 2010. On October 8, 2012, it went to a space house called the International Space Station with some supplies for the first time. In 2020, it was the first rocket of its kind to take people to space. It is the only rocket from the United States that can take people to the International Space Station. Falcon 9 has two parts. The first part helps the second part go up high and fast. Then the second part takes the cargo, or things being carried, to where it needs to go in space. The amazing thing about this rocket is that it can land back on the ground after its job is done so it can be used again. It did this for the first time in December 2015. Until now, SpaceX has landed the Falcon 9's first part 285 times, and some parts have been used 20 times! The rocket uses special fuel to fly. Falcon 9 has carried some very heavy things to a place in space called geostationary transfer orbit. This is an area where satellites can stay over one spot on Earth. The most satellites it has sent up at one time is 143, which is a lot and a record. The rocket is also safe for taking astronauts up to the space house. It is approved for very important space trips, including for NASA and national security.