NASA Awards 270 Million In Contracts To Speed U.S. Return To Manned Orbital Vehicles After The Space Shuttle Retires. (light, spacecraft)

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

Observations: NASA dishes out $270 million to speed U.S. return to orbit after space shuttle retirement

NASA Funds Four Spaceship Developers, Leaves Door Open to Others - SIGNAL Magazine

NASA ponies up $270 million for commercial spaceflight - CNET News (http://m.news.com/2166-12_3-20055253-17.html - broken link)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Chaser_(spacecraft)

CST-100 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bigelow Commercial Space Station - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This video depicts the spacecraft fairly accurately but NOT how it would actually reach orbit>>>>>


YouTube - Dream Chaser Spaceship - Benson Space


YouTube - Animation: Boeing's Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100


YouTube - CSS Skywalker: Bigelow Aerospace space station concept


YouTube - Bigelow Aerospace's Space Station


YouTube - Boeing-Bigelow Private Crew Transport


YouTube - Orbital Technologies. Commercial Space Station

[North Beach Person]

Good.


Manned space flight is one area the US should never cede to another country.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Good.


Manned space flight is one area the US should never cede to another country.

Think "Portugal" once the greatest seafaring and influential nation in the world. Now a third rate economic backwater.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Think "Portugal" once the greatest seafaring and influential nation in the world. Now a third rate economic backwater.

I was thinking Spain when I posted. And the Netherlands.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Netherlands still has the Juice. Still an economic power house

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Netherlands still has the Juice. Still an economic power house

They came back. I was in the 1700's.

[sponger42]

Good news. Lets hope this spurs a further reduction in cost-to-orbit and keeps US (companies) dominant in spaceflight.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Some of the greatest explorations and discoveries of the time were under the auspices of private enterprise, ie: Hudson Bay Company, Dutch East India Company, British East India Company et al.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Some of the greatest explorations and discoveries of the time were under the auspices of private enterprise, ie: Hudson Bay Company, Dutch East India Company, British East India Company et al.

Yeah, but the Crown was heavily involved in all of them.

[DinsdalePirahna]

true. But how ever you call it Development Loans, Grants, Leasing, Charters, whatever. Plus the permitting process. The US government will still be involved heavily involved in a private space program.