NASA Makes Space U-turn??

As startups vow to beat the once stubborn agency back to moon, officials and analysts say NASA has begun to shift its priorities—and cash—toward a dependence on the growing independent market for spacecraft.

For decades, NASA kept a tight fist around the construction and operation of the spacecraft that ferried its astronauts and hardware into orbit. Now, however, the agency seems to be shifting course, as NASA officials insist that the budding commercial spacecraft fleet represents the only way the United States can realize its dreams of solar-system conquest on schedule and at an affordable cost.

Solar System

Because of a new focus for NASA’s strategic investments, private-sector spaceships could be ready for government service soon, says Sam Scimemi, who heads NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program. NASA got its start in aeronautics research, kick-starting a U.S. aviation industry that came to dominate the world.

Following the Capitol Hill mantra that saving money requires spending it, NASA has been signing big-ticket contracts with private space companies to match up their research and development with agency priorities. In February, NASA committed $170 million to Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Va., to help it develop reliable, economical vehicles to send cargo—and, eventually, people—into low Earth orbit. Financial support from NASA represents an important vote of confidence that should help space entrepreneurs leverage even more money from private investors.

Future Tourist Spaceship??