A three-way competition to fly cargo to the International Space Station for NASA has ended, and the U.S. space agency announce the winners on Thursday (January 14).
“With that today we are announcing the next chapter in the path of public private partnership with American companies. To ensure that NASA maintains the capability to resupply the space station from the United States through 2024,” Ellen Ochoa, NASA Space Center Director said.
“First Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia, Sierra Nevada of Sparks, Nevada and SpaceX of Hawthorne, California. These contracts begin upon award, each contract guaranteeing a minimum of six missions, however, as of today we have not yet ordered in the of those missions” International Space Station Division Director, Sam Scimemi announced.
Incumbents Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Orbital ATK were vying with privately owned Sierra Nevada Corp., which is developing a robotic, reusable miniature space plane known as Dream Chaser. Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser is designed to blast off on top of a conventional rocket, then land itself horizontally on a runway like an airplane.
Privately owned SpaceX, as the California-based company is known, and Orbital both currently ferry cargo to the space station aboard capsules.
Sierra Nevada, also privately owned, will join incumbents Space Exploration Technologies and Orbital ATK in ferrying supplies to the space station beginning in late 2019.
“All three companies have the ability to dispose of cargo both pressurized and unpressurized. However Sierra Nevada has the ability to bring home cargo that’s recoverable,” Kirk Shireman International Space Station Program Manager said.
The awarded missions are expected to advance the scientific research as they allow more scientists on board the International Space Station and also the crew more time to conduct research.
“Once we have commercial crew that will allow full transportation of four crew members up to the space station as well as return of four crew members in a lifeboat function and so that’s what lets us bring the space station to its actual original design which was to have seven crew members. From a research perspective, it’s enormous,” Julie Robinson International Space Station Chief Scientist explains.
Terms of the contracts were not immediately disclosed, but NASA previously said it intended to spend about $1 billion to $1.4 billion on the program annually. Each contract includes up to six cargo flights to the space station, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
NASA previously eliminated proposals from Boeing Co and Lockheed-Martin for space station resupply missions. (Reuters)