Orbital is due to begin flight tests of its orbital cargo delivery system later this year.

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The present system, with cargo unloaded on one side of the border and reloaded on to different trucks on the other, is inefficient.

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Hakuta's boss, Yasunori Fujikura, and another trucking-firm executive had wanted to create a computer system that would bypass middlemen and link cargo companies with drivers.

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One of a handful of private companies receiving funds from NASA to develop a space taxi system, SpaceX hopes the experience with the cargo flights will help the company reach its goal of carrying astronauts aboard the Dragon.

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Yet it was just a dress rehearsal, a favor from Western energy companies, to help traders at Gazprom's new London trading desk learn how to put in place agreements between buyer and seller, work out kinks in the system and go through the process of finding and negotiating for cargo and locating a home for it.

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"There's very little we can do to mitigate it because the procedures we use to clear passengers and cargo, they're responsible I think for the fact that we have a very safe aviation system and we have a very good land migration system where we know who's coming into the country, " she said.

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Nasa's policy of outsourcing its cargo and crew transport needs is intended to find savings that can be ploughed back into building a rocket and capsule system capable of taking humans to more challenging destinations.

BBC: SpaceX capsule returns with safe landing in Pacific

Nasa's policy of outsourcing its cargo and crew transport needs is intended to find savings that can be ploughed back into building a rocket and capsule system capable of taking humans beyond low-Earth to more challenging destinations.

BBC: SpaceX lifts off with ISS cargo