Investing in American Ingenuity

By Phil Larson and David Weaver

NASA is laser-focused on bringing more space launches back to America through partnerships with the U.S. commercial space industry. Already two companies – SpaceX and Orbital Sciences – are making regular cargo deliveries to the International Space Station, and later this year, contracts will be awarded to American companies to transport astronauts to the space station from American soil. If Congress fully funds this plan, we’ll bring space launches back to the U.S. in 2017 — and stop shipping jobs and American tax dollars overseas.

As President Obama has said, this is “a capture the flag moment for [U.S.] commercial space flight.”

Cargo services enabled by SpaceX and Orbital Sciences ushered in a new era of U.S. commercial spaceflight. Through the Commercial Resupply Services contract, SpaceX is providing 12 missions to and from the space station for $1.6 billion and Orbital Sciences is providing eight missions for $1.9 billion. NASA recently announced plans to extend operation of the space station until at least 2024. The current CRS contract expires in 2016.

In a synopsis released yesterday, NASA announced it plans to request proposals from SpaceX and Orbital Sciences for cargo delivery services should the CRS contract be extended for one or two years. The optional extensions would allow adequate time for the commercial space industry to propose news space transportation systems for cargo resupply services under a new CRS 2 contract should NASA elect to pursue that procurement strategy. More information is available in the synopsis at: http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/crs2

On Monday, NASA also announced a “Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities” initiative, focused on soliciting new proposals from the U.S. private space industry to develop more partnerships in space. We want your ideas for partnerships with NASA so check this out: http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/ccsc/.

The growing U.S. commercial spaceflight industry is opening low-Earth orbit in ways that will improve lives on Earth, drive economic growth, create jobs and power innovations. And it is enabling NASA to focus on developing the technologies and spacecraft needed to carry out bold missions to Mars and other deep space destinations.

Phil Larson is Senior Advisor for Space and Innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

David Weaver is the Associate Administrator for Communications at NASA