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Commercialization

Commercial Crew Funding at a Critical Juncture

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
October 25, 2011
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Commercial Crew Initiative Called Underfunded, Aviation Week
“Funding for NASA’s commercial crew space transportation services initiative appears headed for funding problems that could undermine the agency’s efforts to regain the independent U.S. human launch capability that lapsed with the shuttle program’s retirement earlier this year, members of NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) warned Oct. 21.”
Comments by NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight
“While not a new idea, it should not be surprising that this increased emphasis and investment has now reached the stage where a real threat exists to the status quo. It is only natural that this success has “inspired” a negative reaction by vested interests. History is rich with examples of industries and entities in transition – those whose livelihoods and in some cases very lives were threatened by a new paradigm often choose the bitter fight instead of, or in some cases, in advance of, their own adaptation.”
NASA OIG Report: NASA’s Challenges Certifying and Acquiring Commercial Crew Transportation Services, earlier post
“Our review found that NASA is making sustained progress toward its goal of obtaining commercial crew transportation services. However, the Agency faces a series of significant challenges, including the need to select an acquisition strategy, modify existing human-rating requirements to make them applicable to commercially developed systems, and establish the appropriate insight/oversight model for commercial partner vehicle development.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.