SpaceX, owned by PayPal cofounder Elon Musk, has already accomplished two unmanned flights to the ISS. Work is currently focused on outfitting the Dragon capsule to carry up to seven people, with human test flights expected in mid-2015.
Ultimately, the aim is to spur human space flight, though the officials acknowledged workon a capsule that potentially could carry astronauts or, less likely, a spaceplane with wings vaguely resembling NASA's retired space shuttles, remains at an early stage.