SpaceX is getting set to fly two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in the next few months. This presages the start of a new American Space Age — this time, with the private sector taking the lead.

Visionary billionaire Elon Musk, the ­SpaceX chief, isn’t the only player: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and several others are also in the game. But it looks like Musk will win the prize for first to deliver humans into a prolonged mission in Earth orbit.

When (OK, if) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket manages this mission, it will also mark the first such American launch in nearly a decade, since NASA shelved its space shuttles.

Right now, the United States depends on Russia for manned launches — and while Vladimir Putin has avoided his trademark power politics on this front, it remains a card he could play.

SpaceX already did a recent dry run, successfully launching its Crew Dragon module to the ISS, 250 miles above the planet, with only a mannequin “passenger.” And it’s delivered cargo to the station a dozen times over the last eight years.

Now the company’s about to cross into manned space travel, with other private firms sure to follow. Fifty-one years after the first Moon landing, America’s off-Earth ventures are entering a new and even more exciting era.