Elon Musk, Space X CEO, unveiled on Thursday night Dragon V2, the company's latest version of the Dragon spacecraft at Space X's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. 

According to reports, the Dragon V2 is a giant step forward in space-related technology. Dragon, the first version, which is more of a cargo ship, currently lands in the ocean, while the latest passenger version, Dragon V2, can land anywhere on the planet. 

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"[Dragon V2 will be] able to land anywhere on Earth with the accuracy of a helicopter," Musk said during the unveiling. 

Musk also said that the new space capsule is designed to be reusable, which makes flying into space more cost-effective compared to how it once was. 

The new version is designed to carry NASA astronauts into the International Space Station (ISS) and safely back to earth. The Dragon V2 is an upgraded version of Dragon that delivered food and other supplied to the ISS. It has done so three times since 2012 as part of SpaceX's contract with NASA that is worth US$1.6 billion. 

Since the federal budget cuts on space program in 2011, NASA has been dependent on Soyuz, Russia's spacecraft, to transport American astronauts to and from the ISS. Depending on the Soyuz has an average cost of US$71 million per person for a round-trip to space and back. 

The growing spat between the United States and Russia over Ukraine has made the issue of private space travel more of a necessity and costs considerations. 

Space X is one of the three companies contracted by NASA's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability program. The program requires Space X and other space contractors to develop a space taxi that could fly a crew of astronauts to the ISS by 2017. 

The other two companies are Sierra Nevada Corp and Boeing. Sierra Nevada has been designing its Dream Chaser and has successfully won a cargo contract with NASA. 

Boeing, for its part, has recently released the interior renderings for CST-100, the company's version of a manned space capsule.

TagsSpace X, Elon Musk, Dragon V2, Emerging Trends, Commercial Space Travel