With the space shuttle fleet retired, it is up to private spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the international space station and other low-Earth-orbit destinations.
It’s Ed Mango’s job at NASA to help companies — such as Sierra Nevada Space Systems of Louisville and United Launch Alliance of Centennial — make those spacecraft and the rockets to launch them.
The goal, said Mango, who manages NASA’s commercial crew program, “is to develop the best concepts” in collaboration with private companies with an eye on flying by 2017. The only way to the space station until then is to rely on the Russians at $63 million per seat, raising concerns about the loss of U.S. leadership in space.
Mango is in Colorado this week to develop a plan with his team that will guide partnerships with private companies over the next year. On Thursday, he plans to visit Sierra Nevada to get an update on the reusable Dream Chaser space plane.
NASA provides funding to assist companies through Space Act Agreements. Mango said Monday the agreements allow more flexibility than contracts to pursue innovative designs and adapt to a tight budget environment.
The private companies also contribute funds, an arrangement that Mango said means “the taxpayers are getting a good investment” because they aren’t paying the full bill.
Sierra Nevada has received $105.6 million from NASA through a Space Act Agreement to develop Dream Chaser. Of that amount, $25.6 million will be spent on a high-altitude, free-flight test — or “drop test” — of Dream Chaser this summer in the Mojave Desert. “We’ve got to see if it can fly,” Mango said.
United Launch Alliance has received $6.7 million from NASA to work on certifying its Atlas V rocket for human spaceflight. “They’ve made great progress, and we’ve had a good amount of data sharing with us,” Mango said.
A request for proposals for the next round of funding is expected in February, with the number of companies receiving funds narrowed from five to one or two.
An obstacle to moving more quickly has been money. NASA had requested $850 million for the commercial crew program, but Congress cut that to $406 million.
“Spaceflight isn’t cheap,” Mango said, estimating that development of a spacecraft costs $2 billion to $5 billion. “If only a couple 100 million is available each year, it’s going to take a while.”
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967or aschrader@denverpost.com
