Thanks for the rides, former Soviets – Boeing and SpaceX are taking it from here.

NASA has formally announced that two private companies will be taking our astronauts to the International Space Station:

The CST-100 and Dragon version 2 have been tapped by NASA to carry astronauts to the International Space Station on missions that will herald a new era in space transportation driven by private companies who also will be able to market their launch services to people around the world.

NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX to build their spacecraft during the final phase of a crew transportation development effort that began in 2010.

More tests, agreed to under the previous development initiative called Commercial Crew Integrated Capability, are slated to take place later this year by several partners.