NASA and Excalibur Almaz Inc. Complete Space Act Agreement, NASA “During this unfunded Space Act Agreement with EAI, NASA learned valuable information about how the company plans to upgrade the existing capsule with modern flight capabilities,” CCP Manager Ed Mango said. “We commend the EAI team for completing all of their established milestones during this partnership.” Marc’s note: What happens now that Excalibur Almaz has completed its unfunded CCDev2 contract? […]

NASA Releases Breakout Videos for the Commercial Crew Program, Commercial Space Watch “Five of NASA’s industry partners participated in the production of breakout videos that highlight the systems they’re creating in collaboration with the Commercial Crew Program during Commercial Crew Development Round 2. Included videos come from: ATK, Boeing, Sierra Nevada, SpaceX and ULA.”

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 […]

NASA Releases Commercial Crew Draft RFP, Announces CCDEV2 Optional Milestones “NASA unveiled Monday an outline of its acquisition strategy to procure transportation services from private industry to carry U.S. astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station. The agency also announced the addition of optional milestones for the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) initiative.” NASA Solicitation: Commercial Crew Integrated Design Contract Draft RFP “A Requirements Workshop, a […]

NASA Signs Commercial Space Agreement With Sierra Nevada “The umbrella space act agreement is Kennedy’s latest step in its transition from a historically government-only launch complex to a multi-user spaceport. Sierra Nevada also has space act agreements with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston; NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.; NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif.; and NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.”

As President Obama Marks Final Launch of Endeavour, Nation Looks to Commercial Space for the Future, Commercial Spaceflight Federation “John Gedmark concluded, “We’ll finally be able to realize the sci-fi future people have been dreaming about, one that inspired an entire generation of dreamers and innovators. People are again imagining a future like we saw in the landmark film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, where private spacecraft offered frequent flights into […]

NASA Awards Next Set Of Commercial Crew Development Agreements “NASA has awarded four Space Act Agreements in the second round of the agency’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2) effort. Each company will receive between $22 million and $92.3 million to advance commercial crew space transportation system concepts and mature the design and development of elements of their systems, such as launch vehicles and spacecraft. The selectees for CCDev2 awards are: — […]