Commercial Transport for ISS Crews?
Department:
The Future in Space
Teaser:
"One of the most controversial elements of the White House's plan for NASA, commercial crew, has suffered setbacks in Congress in recent weeks. Jeff Foust reports on how proponents of commercial crew believe that the effort's long-term success may hinge on resetting the terms of the debate about it. By jeff@thespacereview.com (Jeff Foust)."
Source:
The Space Review Download time: Jul 27 2010 7:46 AM ET
Since February 1, when the White House formally released its 2011 budget proposal for NASA, one of the hottest areas of debate about the agency's future has revolved around the plan in the budget proposal to support development of commercial systems that can transport crews to and from the International Space Station, to the tune of $6 billion over five years. For commercial space advocates, the plan was welcome news, an affirmation of the growing capabilities of established and entrepreneurial space companies alike and the logical next step beyond ferrying cargo to the station. For others, though, the idea of turning to companies who have yet to demonstrate their ability to take cargo to the ISS—let alone people—seemed an unwise diversion from the tried-and-true path of government-operated systems.
For months that debate has taken place in a handful of Congressional hearings, conference sessions, and industry forums, as well as countless op-eds and essays in print and online. It's only in the last couple of weeks, though, that this debate has resulted in action, in the form of language and funding lines in legislation on Capitol Hill. And while the process is far from over, for advocates of commercial crew systems the news is mixed, at best.…
See The Space Review for links to further info.
Also see the Technology Review.
