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NASA to Announce New Commercial Space Partner

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the only-32-million dept.

NewScientist is reporting that NASA has kicked their previous space partner, Rocketplane Kistler, to the curb and is in search of a new commercial space partner. The new partnership will try to develop a new shuttle to service the International Space Station. "The GAO's decision clears the way for NASA to select a new COTS partner in addition to SpaceX, whose partnership with NASA continues. Only $32 million was paid to Rocketplane Kistler, leaving $175 million for new partnerships."

5 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Just to the curb? by MarkusQ · · Score: 4, Funny

    NASA has kicked their previous space partner, Rocketplane Kistler, to the curb

    They just kicked them to the curb? In my day they would have kicked them to the moon. Yes, Alice, to the moooooon.

    --MarkusQ

    P.S. And yes, statistically speaking, I probably am older than you.

    1. Re:Just to the curb? by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

      NewScientist is reporting that NASA has kicked their previous space partner, Rocketplane Kistler, to the curb and is in search of a new commercial space partner. The new partnership will try to develop a new shuttle to service the International Space Station.
      Well, I've got this patent pending on this REALLY BIG sling-shot, if NASA is interested ...

      After all, the USPTO will approve anything nowadays ...

  2. Rocketplane? by jpedlow · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So what is it that the company who got kicked out did? The link didnt work for me:( It seems though that if they just burned through $30M, maybe they should be held accountable for paying some of it back... I'm not 100% sure how things work in the states (I'm Canadian Eh), but shouldnt there be some form of performance rendered from this "partner", or is it just NASA sending money in this company's direction hoping from some sort of result? Maybe there should be more nerds doing open-source aerospace....or it could be a new field for google to go into ;)

    1. Re:Rocketplane? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      In 2006, NASA signed agreements earmarking $485 million to be split between two companies trying to develop vehicles to service the orbital outpost. As part of its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) programme, it set aside $278 million for SpaceX, based in El Segundo, California, and $207 million for Rocketplane Kistler of Oklahoma City, both in the US.

      The money was to be gradually doled out between 2006 and 2010 - as long as the two companies kept meeting performance milestones along the way. But after Rocketplane Kistler failed to raise a required $500 million in private financing, NASA cancelled its agreement with the company in October 2007.

  3. this needs an edit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Statements like "kicked to the curb" are not factual and just inflamatory. The editors should prevent slashdot from becoming a tabloid and adding the writers comments to the news. This doesnt say what Kistler did wrong, if anything, and why. It just presents kistler in a bad light.... we dont know why the person who submitted the article doesnt like Kistler?