Check out Boeing's plans for future space flights

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Boeing Company is giving us an inside look at one of the vehicles NASA has chosen to one day ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.

The Crew Space Transportation capsule or CST-100 as its dubbed by Boeing can seat up to seven people, or a mixture of crew and cargo. It was designed and developed here in Houston at Boeing's headquarters. It will one day launch on top of an Atlas V rocket and will have the ability to return on land, cushioned by something similar to air bags.

Boeing's Commercial Crew Program Manager John Mulholland calls their $4.2 billion portion of the NASA contract both inspiring and humbling. He says "...humbling because of the immense responsibility i think that entails."

The contract means additional jobs with Boeing in Houston and Florida. Officials say about 175 people will be hired immediately here.

Astronauts are already training on a mock-up and a simulator of the capsule.

Three CST-100's will be built. The capsules will be reusable, up to 10 times. Boeing says the first unmanned flight will take place in 2016. They have scheduled the first crewed flight for fall 2017.

SpaceX also received a $2.6 billion contract to develop its own capsule.