NASA is going to club hands with four commercial aerospace companies that will assist the US space agency in developing new capabilities in space.
For the project, NASA has signed an agreement called Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities with these aerospace companies that will enable them to participate in space agency’s several commercial efforts.
The four firms picked by NASA include:
- SpaceX of Hawthorne, California: It develops launch capabilities for using them in supporting missions to deep space.
- United Launch Alliance, in Centennial, Colorado: It is working on new launch vehicles that are aimed at lowering mission costs while enhancing performance.
- ATK Space Systems of Beltsville, Maryland: The company is working on space transportation and logistics capabilities.
- Final Frontier Design of Brooklyn, New York: It develops space suits intended for intra-vehicular activity.
“We look forward to working with these partners to advance space capabilities and make them available to NASA and other customers in the coming years,” Phil McAlister, NASA’s commercial spaceflight development head, said.
By offering the selected firms with accessibility to its resources and technologies, NASA’s new program intends to take benefit from the infrastructure and expertise of the private aerospace sector.
McAlister said, “Companies in all shapes and sizes are investing their own capital toward innovative commercial space capabilities. These awards clearly demonstrate the huge diversity and maturity of the commercial space industry.”
NASA says it is offering the private space industry to access its technologies in order to accelerate their development process in the field of integrated space mission capabilities.
The space agency is hopeful that these firms can create products and services to support the country’s space program within five years or so.
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