|
NASA
to Begin Negotiating Space Launch Initiative Contracts
NASA has selected a
number of companies to enter into “competitive negotiations” for
Space Launch Initiative (SLI) contracts. These companies have not
yet been identified. SLI has a budget of US$290  million for fiscal
year 2001, while the 2002 budget proposal submitted to Congress by
President Bush calls for a 64 percent increase in the program to
US$475 million. The complete SLI program envisions spending US$4.5
billion over a five-year span.
The Space Launch
Initiative is a comprehensive, long-range plan to promote commercial
development and civil exploration of space and provide the strategy
and funding to enable at least two competing architectures for
full-scale development of a 2nd generation reusable launch vehicle
by mid-decade. The objective of SLI is to provide commercial
industry with the opportunity to meet NASA's future launch needs,
including human access to space, with new launch vehicles that may
dramatically reduce cost while improving safety and reliability. The
primary focus of the Space Launch Initiative is on technology
development for concepts that would be able to launch payloads for
NASA, commercial and military missions and be able to fly crew to
and from the International Space Station. Satellite delivery and
future International Space Station support are the primary set of
requirements for the new system and would include elements like crew
transfer vehicles, reusable launch vehicles and orbital transfer
systems.
In
October 2000 a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) was issued, with
some 50 industry proposals being submitted in response in December
2000. More than 300 personnel from throughout NASA participated in
the SLI proposal evaluation process. Contract awards could be
awarded as early as April. NASA is expected to award some US$900
million over the next two-and-a-half years. 
SPACEandTECH Digest is a weekly roundup of the latest industry news of interest
to the space professional. SPACEandTECH Flash! is an internet push
service offered by Andrews Space & Technology to bring the
latest on orders, launches, and important breaking news to your
desktop. SPACEandTECH Digest and SPACEandTECH Flash! are part of
the Andrews Space & Technology www.spaceandtech.com
website, a website designed to serve the information needs of the
space industry.
If you would like to subscribe to the SPACEandTECH
Flash!
(currently a free service), contact the www.spaceandtech.com
Editor-in-Chief, Joe Hopkins, at editor@spaceandtech.com
|
