In an exclusive interview with LAUNCH Magazine, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) founder Elon Musk says his company can solve NASA's upcoming space gap. "I believe we will be able to do crew flights in 2011," Musk told LAUNCH. That would effectively solve NASA's manned spaceflight dilemma following retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2010. It could be five years or more before NASA's Orion spacecraft is flight ready. In an in-depth interview, Musk, co-founder of PayPal and CEO of SpaceX, says his firm is already designing their Dragon spacecraft for manned missions, in addition to cargo resupply flights to the International Space Station.

Also in May/June's LAUNCH:

• A report card on the shuttle program as it faces retirement.
• An interview with Bill Stine, founder of Quest Aerospace and heir to a hobby rocketry legacy.
• A preview of Discovery Channel's upcoming "When We Left Earth" series, celebrating NASA's first 50 years.
• LAUNCH's Space Modeling columnist Mario Perdue turns his attention to the upcoming Ares I and V launch vehicles. The result: Two 1/70th scale kits that fly.
• Photos from NASA’s University Student Launch Initiative (USLI) and Student Launch Initiative (SLI), hosted by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Huntsville Area Rocketry Association (HARA).
• Writer Ben Bova examines the concern over weapons in space.

And much more!