Commercial Crew selection Announcement Status
Keith’s note: Don’t expect to see a commercial crew selection announcement this week. Unless things change, of course.
Keith’s note: Don’t expect to see a commercial crew selection announcement this week. Unless things change, of course.
What is the hold-up, for heaven’s sake? The longer they delay the announcement, the more likely old cynics like me will begin suspecting back-room political intrigue.
Hey Aging Watcher; I agree, Chicago politics at work
BS, if there is any politics it is with Senator Shelby and Alabama, Senator Nelson and Florida et cetera. It is the space states fighting about who is going to lose SLS . Orion as commercial crew comes online.
Wherever the corruption is coming from, this does not look right.
Most Floridians agree that sen. Nelson has done nothing for space except for lip service. this guy has been in office way too long.
Perhaps true (I’m a Floridian, and a strong Democrat). But that other Senator? Worse.
In truth Florida should OWN space launches. The geography trumps all and the opportunity has been squandered. And there are (were?) tens of thousands of very high skilled boys and girls available.
Yea, I know about the Air Force. So what? A true leader would have dealt with those guys.
It makes me crazy.
My worst case… CCP: Boeing capsule, L-M rocket. SLS: L-M capsule, Boeing rocket. Nelson and Shelby all smiles. SpaceX cleans up commercial satellite market for the U.S. from rival nations and has CRS contract extended but Dragon V2 development put on hold/strung out without that federal funding. Either way, the Russian Soyuz still remains ISS crew transport till 2017 or 18.
It is “customary as a matter of courtesy” (in fact it’s required) for NASA to delay public announcement of a major procurement until important players on Capitol Hill have been given a heads-up. Congressmen and Senators don’t like to be blindsided. The public announcement then follows in the next few hours, and often a day or two later.
This gives time for the Congressional politicos and their cronies on Wall Street to exercise their insider trading. With buys and sells, puts and calls, there’s plenty of money to be made after the public announcement.
I see this delay as being a good sign for SpaceX. I’m guessing that with that company being privately held, not publicly traded, the politicians and their masters are stumped. They’re probably putting pressure on SpaceX’s private investors to give them a piece of the action, but Elon and his friends are telling them to go push a rope. The delay is about money. It’s about politicians and Wall Street 1%ers trying to line their pockets.
This procurement sets the momentum for MSF for years and possibly even decades to come. There’s a lot of money to be made.
You are saying that the delay is so that insider trading can take place? Seriously? Any evidence of this?
No? Thought so.
It’s a corrosive attitude running through the country. We are shooting ourselves in the foot.
60 minutes did a show on how insider trading happens on most all legislation.
Sierra Nevada is privately held also. So if SpaceX and SNC are chosen there would not be any ‘calls’ there may be some ‘puts’ for Boeing, but they just landed the SLS core contract and it is a minor part of their revenue stream. Not many plays here unless there are some small, key, publically owned, sub contractors.
well I would pick all of them at $800 million per year each……………………….
As an item for conveying news, this ranks right up there with weather reports that advise that there’s a “50 percent chance of rain in your area.”
True, but it is legitimate because this decision should have been made a long time ago. Perhaps Keith is trying to put pressure on NASA to make a decision. The longer this drags on the more it looks like bribery is involved – especially if Boeing gets it at the expense of Space X or Dreamchaser.
Keith *wishes* he had that kind of clout. If a decision is indeed imminent, then the source selection work has been done for a while and the announcement is just waiting for all the lawyers to agree on what the meaning of “is” is, in multiple places on several thousand pages. Then the announcement will go out and each of the losers’ lawyers will go through the same process to look for a loophole with which to file a protest. The legal fees alone for this could float a Third World country for several years.
What is the delay?
Hundreds, maybe thousands of people’s jobs are hanging on this
announcement, and NASA just bumbles around continuing to delay, possibly
causing “brain drain” from the companies because people aren’t sure
when NASA will announce. This announcement was supposed to be made in
August, and now we are left wondering if they will make the announcement in
September. They aren’t fooling anyone, they already know who will be
awarded the contract(s), this is bureaucratic nonsense. Co-locate your
fecal matter, NASA, and make the announcement already.
Hey Mike, you hit the nail on the head, this feet dragging is affecting a lot of people. But all them civil servants at KSC are still getting paid huh?
it’s not an easy decision. many internet flame wars have been fought over this very topic.
I’d say choosing the second company is a hard decision. Choosing the first company should be easy.
I am guessing that NASA is waiting for the CR to be passed by Congress.
Man, isn’t that the truth.
Sierra Nevada Corp has been flooding the job boards for the last 3 weeks with *contingent* job positions.
I don’t know if they treat the big guys like the small contractors, but if they are true to form, the award will come on a Friday afternoon so everyone involved can high-tail it out of Dodge and not have to answer any questions until Monday.
I am impatient too and I am really looking forward to it. I think the most likely explanation is that NASA is waiting for the CR or their appropriation bill to be passed depending on how Congress acts.
It’s all politics. It won’t be SpaceX. No one wants to land with retrorockets like the Russians. It won’t be Boeing. They are way overweight and don’t need the money. The Dream Chaser that can land at any International airport is the only logical choice. Who wants to go back to a capsule? – Dennis
Guess: Is the delay because the President will announce the selection of winner(s), and getting time on his calendar right now is challenging to say the least?