Bill Ingalls / NASA

SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, makes remarks at the microphone while NASA Administrator Charles Bolden sizes up the company's Dragon capsule on Wednesday at the SpaceX rocket test facility in McGregor, Texas. Wednesday's gathering marked the handover of the Dragon's cargo to NASA after last month's historic commercial mission to the International Space Station.

In the wake of a history-making commercial space mission, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, met up in Texas today for a close-up look at the company's recently returned Dragon space capsule and the official handover of more than a half-ton of cargo that came back to Earth on the craft. Musk also got in a little Texas-style politicking on the side.

The SpaceX Dragon's trip to the International Space Station last month marked the first time a privately built craft made an orbital stopover. The Dragon is currently the only type of spaceship on the planet capable of bringing significant amounts of cargo back from the station — up to 3 tons' worth. This time around, it returned 1,367 pounds (621 kilograms) of non-critical cargo, including scientific experiments as well as equipment and spacewalk gear that was no longer needed.

The handover at SpaceX's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas, meant that the space agency and the 10-year-old company could check off the last major milestone on their list for the demonstration mission. And that, in turn, opens the way for SpaceX to start ferrying cargo to the station on a regular basis under the terms of a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The first of 12 missions is tentatively planned for September.

Today's meeting gave Bolden and Musk an opportunity to thank the more than 150 SpaceX employees working at the McGregor facility — and get a good look at the Dragon. The Associated Press quoted Musk as saying the craft looked "almost untouched," while Bolden said the capsule was "beaten up" during re-entry.

"The Dragon capsule is a tangible example of the new era of exploration unfolding right now," Bolden was quoted as saying in a NASA report about the Texas meet-up. "Commercial space is becoming a reality as SpaceX looks ahead to future missions to the space station and other destinations. All of NASA's partners in the commercial crew and cargo programs continue to meet milestones designing the next generation of innovative U.S. spacecraft destined for low Earth orbit. In addition, NASA centers across the country are making exciting progress on the vehicles that will take astronauts to farther destinations like an asteroid and Mars. I congratulate Elon Musk and the SpaceX team again for this historic milestone."

Bill Ingalls / NASA

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, congratulates SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk in front of the Dragon capsule during Wednesday's meeting at the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas.

Bill Ingalls / NASA

Packages representing part of the 1,367 pounds of cargo that was carried from the International Space Station to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returned to Earth from the space station are seen in a clean room at the SpaceX rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas, on Wednesday. The cargo was transferred to NASA on Wednesday and will be brought to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for further processing.

Musk similarly expressed his thanks to the space agency and to SpaceX's employees — and also referred to the company's plans to build a new launch site in South Texas. SpaceX is using its current pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida primarily for NASA resupply missions. Another pad that's under construction at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California may eventually take on military launches. The third launch site, in contrast, would be devoted exclusively to commercial launches.

In the past, Musk has said that he was considering several locales around the country, but this morning he told the crowd in McGregor that "the south coast of Texas is the lead candidate for that third launch site."

"I'm actually flying to meet with the governor later today and a number of people on the Texas Legislature side to talk about that, as well as any potential questions in the future about flying astronauts, if we’re successful in winning future NASA business in that regard," Musk said.

SpaceX and three other companies — Blue Origin, the Boeing Co. and Sierra Nevada Corp. — are currently receiving millions of dollars from NASA to support the development of spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts to the station. In SpaceX's case, that would involve building and testing a launch escape system for the Dragon craft. Musk has said that the first tests of such a thruster system could begin this year, and that astronauts could conceivably fly on the Dragon as early as 2015. NASA's projections, however, lean more toward the 2017 time frame.

During the next phase of the commercial crew development program, NASA has indicated that it will provide significant support for two spaceship teams, plus a smaller backup grant. This compromise plan, which I like to think of as a "Two and a Half Spacemen," was worked out with Rep. Frank Wolf, the Virginia Republican who chairs the House Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations subcommittee. In light of SpaceX's success so far, the company is virtually a shoo-in to win continued support.

This afternoon, Musk and Texas Gov. Rick Perry reviewed the status of the South Texas spaceport project, which is now in the midst of a federal environmental review. Texas state officials have said they'd consider all of their options for supporting the project, including economic incentives. The one-on-one went well, judging by Perry's Twitter update: "Great meeting with SpaceX's Elon Musk — a true space pioneer!"

In a statement, Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said Texas would be "a natural fit" for SpaceX's future launch facility.

After the talks with the politicians, Musk is due to meet up again with Bolden on Thursday at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. They'll take a look at another scorched Dragon — the one that flew the first NASA demonstration mission in December 2010 — as well as the prototype Dragon being designed for crew flights. And they'll probably also face a cheering crowd of hundreds of SpaceX employees, similar to this one.

More about commercial space:

• SpaceX success opens door to US military flights
• Gallery: Ten players in commercial space race
• Cosmic Log archive on commercial space

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

SpaceX

SpaceX's scorched Dragon capsule sits on its American Marine recovery ship after being fished out of the Pacific Ocean on Thursday.

SpaceX's scorched Dragon cargo capsule is on a ship making its way back to Los Angeles after Thursday's historic descent from orbit.

The California-based company reported that the 14.4-foot-high (4.4-meter-high) spacecraft and its more than 1,300 pounds (620 kilograms) of cargo were in good shape, despite its plunge from the International Space Station. On the way down, the Dragon weathered re-entry temperatures in excess of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius). At a height of 40,000 feet, the Dragon started deploying its parachutes and drifted into the Pacific, about 560 miles west of Baja California. A recovery team got to the craft, towed it to the ship and used a crane to hoist it aboard, as planned.

SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham told me that a few items will be delivered to NASA officials with a 48-hour turnaround, as a demonstration of the procedure for returning time-sensitive cargo from orbit. But the Dragon itself and most of its payload will be taking a slower ride to the port of Los Angeles. Arrival is expected around June 6, depending on weather.

From California, the craft and cargo will be trucked to SpaceX's rocket test facility in MacGregor, Texas, for postflight processing. Then the cargo will be turned over to NASA.

The handover of the Dragon's contents will be the last item to check off on NASA's list of requirements. That should clear the way for a $1.6 billion series of 12 Dragon cargo flights, with the first launch probably scheduled sometime in September.

NASA and SpaceX released a slew of awesome pictures and video documenting the Dragon's return, via SpaceX's Zenfolio gallery as well as NASA's Flickr and YouTube accounts. Here's a selection: 

NASA

SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft begins its descent on Thursday after its release by the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, visible at top center.

NASA / U.S. Navy

A wind-filled parachute pulls the SpaceX Dragon capsule through the water after Thursday's Pacific splashdown.

SpaceX / U.S. Navy

A dive team secures the Dragon spacecraft for towing to its recovery barge.

NASA / U.S. Navy

The Dragon capsule nears American Marine's recovery ship, which is equipped with a crane to take the spacecraft on board.

Eventually, SpaceX is aiming for extensive reusability of its spaceship components, including a first stage that can fly itself back to the launch pad and a "Dragon 2.0" spacecraft that can do propulsive soft landings.

"That's how spaceships land in sci-fi movies," SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, told me during a post-splashdown news conference. "And that's what also enables landing in other parts of the solar system. ... It's the way spacecraft ought to land."

But NASA won't be using this particular Dragon again. The space agency is buying a fresh spaceship for each of the 12 cargo supply missions. Musk speculated that SpaceX might send the scarred spacecraft on "a little tour of the country and show it to people around the country, [to] get students excited about space." In the future, Dragons could be refurbished for return trips to space.

Meanwhile, SpaceX is working to make the Dragon suitable for carrying astronauts as well as cargo. The development of the SuperDraco thruster system is a key part of that plan, because it fits into the propulsive-landing strategy as well as the launch escape system that NASA will require for safe human spaceflight. Musk said the system could go into operation in three years if the development effort goes well, "maybe four or five if we encounter some challenges along the way."

Other spaceship companies are making strides as well, with advice and financial support from NASA. Here's a quick progress report:

Orbital Sciences Corp., like SpaceX, has been receiving hundreds of millions of dollars to support the development of an unmanned cargo resupply system. Orbital is developing a new rocket called the Antares as well as its Cygnus cargo capsule to do the job. Last month, Orbital, Aerojet and NASA oversaw a full-duration hot-fire test of the AJ26 engine that will be used on the Antares. The first test launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia is planned sometime in the next few months, and if all goes according to plan, cargo flights to the space station could begin by early next year under the terms of a $1.9 billion contract.

Blue Origin, the company founded by Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos, is working on a spacecraft that could carry astronauts to the space station, with United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket to be used as the launch vehicle. On Thursday, Blue Origin reported that it successfully completed a systems requirement review of its orbital Space Vehicle. Blue Origin's president and program manager, Rob Meyerson, said in a statement that the review "paves the way to finalize our Space Vehicle design." Representatives from NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration took part in the review.

The Boeing Co. is developing its CST-100 capsule for NASA's potential use as a taxi for space station astronauts, to be launched by the Atlas 5. The company carried out drop tests in April and May to check the workability of its parachute-plus-airbag landing system. The most recent test involved dropping a CST-100 test vehicle from a helicopter, 14,000 feet above Nevada's Delamar Dry Lake Bed. Boeing's John Mulholland said the test validated the landing system design. Further ground tests of CST-100 components lie ahead, and test flights could begin in 2015-2016, Boeing says.

Sierra Nevada Corp. is developing a mini-shuttle known as the Dream Chaser, to be launched atop an Atlas 5 as a taxi for space station astronauts. This week, Sierra Nevada put the Dream Chaser through its first full-scale, captive-carry flight test. For this test, the space plane was suspended by cables beneath a heavy-lift helicopter. The first free-gliding drop tests are planned for later this year, and Sierra Nevada says the Dream Chaser could be operational by 2016. 

SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing and Sierra Nevada, along with other aerospace players such as ATK, Lockheed Martin and Astrium, are expected to compete for further funding from NASA later this year. Which means it's not likely to be a slow summer in the aerospace business. Has the successful Dragon mission made SpaceX the far-and-away frontrunner, or is the commercial space race up in the air? When will U.S. astronauts be flying once again on U.S.-made spaceships? Watch a panel of space commentators, including yours truly, discuss these and other questions — and feel free to weigh in with your comments below.

Update for 6:55 p.m. June 2: In a Twitter update, SpaceX confirms that it has delivered some cargo items to NASA in an effort to demonstrate 48-hour rush processing after splashdown. You could call this the first commercial express delivery from outer space.

More about the commercial space race:

• Ten high-profile players in the race
• Next steps in a new space race
• Cosmic Log archive on new space
• Slideshow: Month in Space Pictures

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.