Inside SpaceX: We Visit the Company's California Headquarters

Soon, if all goes according to plan, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, will become the first private company to dock with the International Space Station. The mission was originally scheduled to launch on February 7, and though the company just announced a delay to work out some final launch details, its mission should be the first real test to show that spacecraft built, owned, and operated by private American companies can accomplish what space shuttles did in orbit for so many years.

After launching from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the unmanned, solar-powered Dragon, carrying provisions for the station's six astronauts, will perform a flyby of the space station to test precision maneuvering abilities. If these tests go without a hitch, the capsule will draw near enough to be captured by the station's robotic arm. After its mission, the Dragon will splash down off the California coast for recovery. SpaceX stands to gain $1.6 billion for a total of 12 cargo flights to the station, in addition to the upcoming test flight. SpaceX is already working with NASA seed money to prepare the Dragon for manned flights by the end of 2014.

Company founder and CEO Elon Musk is already looking far beyond the ISS flight. SpaceX is also working to make its rockets and its spacecraft reusable; he says that's the key to making space flight affordable enough to allow, say, human colonization of Mars. Musk's plans include incorporating landing gear into future Falcon 9s and Dragon capsules. Each of the two rocket stages would fly a controlled trajectory back to Earth after accomplishing its mission of pushing a Dragon capsule into orbit, and touch down gently on land for refurbishment. Rather than parachuting to a water landing, the Dragon capsule would fire its own onboard rocket motors to make a precision landing on land as well.

When PM paid a visit to SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., last week, the normally cool-under-fire CEO admitted he and his company have their hands full at the moment. "We are just extremely stressed right now preparing for the docking next month," he said, "plus developing the new version of Falcon 9 with upgraded performance and reusability." SpaceX engineers are also working to modify the basic Falcon 9 design for high-altitude launch from what is to be the world's largest airplane—part of the Stratolaunch project announced by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen last month.

Here's a look at what we saw during our stop at Musk's home base.