Money for private spaceships to send crews to ISS

Acting NASA Administrator Christopher Scolese told the House Appropriations Committee that some of the stimulus money will be used to help speed the development of private spacecraft for delivering astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX's Dragon: To carry more astronauts than NASA's Orion

Competition to deliver astronauts

Currently, two companies have been developing spacecraft capable of being used for this purpose: SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation. Although those two companies already have contracts with NASA for delivering supplies to ISS, other companies may also compete to deliver astronauts. (I can’t identify any companies that seem close to having that ability…but maybe they exist!)

Downscaling Orion

Meanwhile, NASA’s replacement for the shuttle, Orion, appears to be progressing slower than hoped: it may not be ready until after 2015. And there’s another disappointment: it may carry only 4 astronauts, instead of 6. (SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will reported support a crew of up to 7!)

In his testimonry, Scolese also noted that NASA’s return to the moon may be cursory, like the Apollo program—rather than the start of a permanent base, as previously planned. This would be due to changing budget priorities. (um…not enough money…)