NASA has reportedly picked Boeing and SpaceX as the two companies to receive primary funding for the "Commercial Crew Program." The news was reportedly leaked to NBC News' Jay Barbree, but all parties involved have refused to comment until NASA makes the official announcement later today. While Boeing and SpaceX are likely to take home the bulk of $1 billion in funding, Sierra Nevada has been picked as the "standby" candidate -- with a mandate to step in if either primary partner fails. If true, then it means that Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has been cut out of the race entirely -- although disappointment is easier to take if you're a billionaire... we've heard.
Update: NASA's confirmed its picks, with back-up choice Sierra Nevada picking up $212.5 million, while Space X and Boeing got $440 million and $460 million, respectively. To celebrate, SpaceX's crafted another stargazing video -- it's right after the break.
Continue reading Boeing, SpaceX win NASA 'space taxi' funding race (updated)
Filed under: Transportation, Science
Boeing, SpaceX win NASA 'space taxi' funding race (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
WSJ, NBC |
Email this |
Comments
SpaceX is reportedly gearing up for the next test of its Crew Dragon capsule. A static fire test (a simulated launch with a rocket engine secured to the ground) is set to take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida November 2nd, accordi...
SpaceX's Crew Dragon has completed the last leg of its historic first journey. The capsule docked with the International Space Station through a "soft capture" at 5:51AM Eastern, with astronauts aboard the ISS opening the hatch shortly after 8AM. T...
On Thursday afternoon the rocket engines under SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle briefly fired up, and after a few delays the company said on Twitter that it's planning for a test flight in February. You can watch a video of the test below, which accordin...
We're a few weeks away from the first uncrewed Demo-1 flight test to the Space Station, but NASA and SpaceX have pushed the mission back slightly. According to a post from the Commercial Crew Program, switching the date back ten days from January 7th...
Aboard the International Space Station, an A4-size flag of the United States hangs next to a 1:100 model of a space shuttle. The memento, placed there by the last crew to fly on shuttle Atlantis, is meant to be retrieved by the next batch of astronau...
Congress has finally passed a bill authorizing NASA's new budget that gives the agency annual funding of$19.5 billion. The paperwork remains mostly unchanged from when it was passed in the Senate last December, with only minor alterations being made....
