Current Period
In the early 21st century, the Ansari X Prize competition was set up to help jump start private spaceflight, which was won by Space Ship One in 2004, becoming the first spaceship not funded by a government agency.
Several countries now have space programs; from related technology ventures to full fledged space programs with launch facilities. There are many scientific and commercial satellites in use today, with a total of hundreds of satellites in orbit, and several countries have plans to send humans into space.
Read more about this topic: Space Age
Famous quotes containing the words current and/or period:
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