NASA
puts out call for commercial lunar landers
Send a link to a friend
[January 28, 2014]
By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) — Under
a new program called Lunar Catalyst, U.S. space agency NASA will provide
free technical expertise, equipment, facilities and software to help
selected companies develop lunar landers, officials said on Monday.
|
"The intent of this initiative is to stimulate and help
commercialization," Jason Crusan, who oversees NASA's advanced
exploration programs, said during a conference call with prospective
bidders on Monday.
Development of commercial lunar landers would join a growing list of
space transportation services that have attracted interest from U.S.
companies, including Boeing Co and Alliant Techsystems Inc.
NASA already has turned over cargo deliveries to the International
Space Station to privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or
SpaceX, and Orbital Sciences Corp. The companies hold NASA flight
services contracts worth a combined $3.5 billion.
NASA wants a balanced approach in which its contributions will help
accelerate the development of industry projects, Crusan said during
a follow-on conference call with reporters.
"If a team came in and wanted everything from NASA and (wanted) us
to build the landing service for them, that's not really much of a
partnership."
NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) also is
looking to buy rides commercially for its astronauts. At least three
firms, SpaceX, Boeing and privately owned Sierra Nevada Corp, are in
the running for NASA funding to help get their spaceships ready for
test flights before the end of 2017.
[to top of second column] |
Companies interested in Lunar Catalyst have until March 17 to submit
business plans and proposals to NASA, which could decide to purchase
hardware or services at a future date, Crusan said.
The agency, for example, is developing a mission to mine water on
the moon and intends to partner with Canada and other countries to
develop a rover and a lander. If those plans fall through, however,
NASA could look to buy the equipment from, or partner with, U.S.
companies, Crusan said.
NASA already has contracts to buy lunar science and technical data
from several teams competing in the $30 million Google X Prize
competition to land and operate a privately owned vehicle on the
moon before the end of 2015.
(Editing by Peter Galloway)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|