SpaceX, an American space technology firm, has decided to compete with Russia. Russia has been making a lot of money from the U.S. by hauling payloads and staff back and forth to the space station while NASA sorts out the flying foam problems of the Space Shuttle.
SpaceX just announced that they have been working on a reusable crew capsule that is a cross between the Soyuz and Apollo capsules. It is designed primarily to haul people and freight back and forth to the space station. The company has other space vehicles under development as well.