Aug 18, 2006

Michael Braukus/Beth Dickey Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1979/2087

Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

RELEASE: 06-295

NASA SELECTS CREW AND CARGO TRANSPORTATION TO ORBIT PARTNERS

NASA selected SpaceX, El Segundo, Calif and Rocketplane-Kistler, Oklahoma City, to develop and demonstrate commercial orbital transportation services that could open new markets and pave the way for contracts to launch and deliver crew and cargo to the International Space Station

NASA and the two companies signed Space Act Agreements that establish milestones and objective criteria to assess their progress throughout Phase 1 of the competition Once a capability is demonstrated, NASA plans to purchase crew and cargo delivery services competitively in Phase 2

"NASA is proud to work with SpaceX and Rocketplane-Kistler as they endeavor to take American entrepreneurial spirit to new heights," said NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Scott Horowitz "When commercial enterprises turn the journey to low-Earth orbit into a profit-making business model, NASA will be free to focus on goals that are more appropriate for government, such as exploration of the moon and Mars "

In Phase 1, the companies will demonstrate a combination of four capabilities: external (unpressurized) cargo delivery and disposal; internal (pressurized) cargo delivery and disposal; internal cargo delivery and return; and an option for crew transportation

"These companies were selected from a total of 20 applicants, based on solid engineering of innovative concepts and sound business plans," said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office at the Johnson Space Center, Houston

For more information about the program, visit:

http://procurement jsc nasa gov/cots/

The Vision for Space Exploration calls for humans to return to the moon and journey to Mars For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/home

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: BULK_EMAIL

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

http://www aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/[list]/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

http://www aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/list/[list]

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:list
admin@aus-city
com>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

http://www aus-city com