Finalists Picked in NASA's Private Space Race

[Mark Reiff <markreiff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

FYI,

"Finalists Picked in NASA's Private Space Race
- Several companies go to next round of talks over space station resupply"
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12706352/from/RSS/

: In an exercise reminiscent of the "American Idol" TV show, NASA on
: Tuesday told several companies they are going on to the next round of
: negotiations in a $500 million program to commercialize transport to
: the international space station.

: The space agency is planning to announce the winner or winners late
: this summer, said James Bailey, NASA's contracting officer for the
: COTS program. "We've selected several companies to have discussions
: with," Bailey told MSNBC.com. "We've been very pleased with the
: quality of the proposals we've received."

: However, Oklahoma-based Rocketplane Kistler and California-based Space
: Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, acknowledged that they were
: finalists. Other sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because
: of the official NASA reticence, indicated that the Virginia-based
: t/Space consortium, California-based SpaceDev, Texas-based Spacehab
: and Andrews Space in Seattle were also on the list.

: The COTS program has been largely shrouded in secrecy to this point,
: due to its entrepreneurial nature. It was set up as a backstop for
: resupplying the space station — particularly in the period between
: 2010, when the space shuttle fleet is due to be phased out, and the
: 2011-2014 time frame, when NASA's Crew Exploration Vehicle, or CEV, is
: to enter service.

: In contrast with the multibillion-dollar CEV contract, the COTS
: program offers $500 million over five years. That's less than the cost
: of one shuttle flight, but the money is a powerful inducement for
: smaller aerospace companies. Early this year, more than 20 companies
: submitted proposals in hopes of getting to the finalist stage
: — including established firms such as Spacehab and Orbital Sciences as
: well as upstarts such as SpaceX, Rocketplane Kistler and t/Space.

--
Mark Reiff <markreiff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


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