SpaceX has successfully orbited, deorbited, and retrieved a space capsule (yesterday, 8 Dec 2010):
http://www.spacex.com/updates.php No astronauts on board -- not yet, anyway. They're working hand in hand with NASA so the "private" part of the "private industry" thing is a little fuzzy but none the less there's far less government involvement in this than in any of the "main event" space activities in the U.S. (or elsewhere). Whether this is good or bad depends on your politics and view of space exploration, of course!
