"It was an amazing achievement for Orbital today, " said Alan Lindenmoyer, the manager of Nasa's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program.

BBC: Orbital's Antares rocket makes test flight

"We're ready to support when SpaceX is ready to go, " Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA's commercial crew and cargo program, told reporters during a Saturday briefing.

WSJ: SpaceX Acts Fast for New Launch

Some of these craft are also chasing financial support from Nasa's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Program.

BBC: New rocket could lift astronauts

SpaceX is also one of the participants in a separate NASA program to develop commercial crew transports for use in the 2017 time frame.

MSN: Space station's private hookup delayed till March