Washington, D.C. \u2013 The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to congratulate member companies Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace for winning the latest round of contracts today to integrate and fly payloads to space as part of NASA\u2019s Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) program. The CRuSR program is part of NASA\u2019s Space Technology Program under the leadership of NASA\u2019s Chief Technologist, Dr. Bobby Braun.<\/p>\n
Commercial reusable suborbital spacecraft \u2013 such as Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipTwo, XCOR Aerospace\u2019s Lynx, Masten Space Systems\u2019 Xaero, Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard, and Armadillo Aerospace\u2019s modular vehicles \u2013 provide the nation with a new low-cost capability to carry payloads and people to the edge of space. NASA is taking advantage of these capabilities with its CRuSR program. Following the Space Shuttle\u2019s retirement, commercial suborbital vehicles are expected to be the next American flights of people into space from US soil.<\/p>\n
Admiral Craig Steidle, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, stated, \u201cToday\u2019s announcement illustrates the future of NASA-industry partnerships in order to offer R&D, science, and education flight opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to NASA, \u201ceach successful vendor will receive an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. These two-year contracts, worth a combined total of $10 million, will allow NASA to draw from a pool of commercial space companies to deliver payload integration and flight services. The flights will carry a variety of payloads to help meet the agency’s research and technology needs.\u201d A total of seven firms were selected.<\/p>\n
Admiral Steidle added, \u201cThe Commercial Spaceflight Federation applauds the leadership of Dr. Bobby Braun, NASA\u2019s Chief Technologist. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is a strong advocate for the CRuSR program and for Space Technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun stated in the NASA press release, \u201cNASA is moving toward the goal of making frequent, low-cost access to near-space available to a wide range of engineers, scientists and technologists. The government’s ability to open the suborbital research frontier to a broad community of innovators will enable maturation of the new technologies and capabilities needed for NASA’s future missions in space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commercial Spaceflight Federation Executive Director John Gedmark noted, \u201cThis is a big day for commercial space. Just as 1920s air mail purchases helped jumpstart the airline industry, we expect that NASA\u2019s purchases of flights on commercial suborbital vehicles will help accelerate this new industry. Hundreds of scientists, engineers, and educators have attended CSF workshops on the topic of using commercial suborbital vehicles, and we are thrilled to see that the R&D community will now be able to get rides to space.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s full press release can be found at http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/home\/hqnews\/2011\/aug\/HQ_11-258_Flight_Opportunities.html<\/a> .<\/p>\n About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation<\/p>\n The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation\u2019s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit http:\/\/www.commercialspaceflight.org<\/a> or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org<\/a> or at 202.349.1121.<\/p>\n # # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Washington, D.C. \u2013 The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to congratulate member companies Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and XCOR Aerospace for winning the latest round of contracts today to integrate and fly payloads to space as part … Continue reading