Ambitions Program Relies On Private Industry For Transportation To ISS

NASA's industry partners continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities that will ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station, reducing the amount of time America has to depend on Russia for launch services. NASA has outlined an ambitious program moving forward that relies on U.S. private industry to assume transportation of cargo and crew to the International Space Station, while the agency focuses on deep space exploration.

NASA has posted the third status report on its Commercial Crew Development 2 (CCDev2) program to the agency's Commercial Space Transportation website. The report highlights the progress and accomplishments for the agency's commercial spaceflight development efforts. The bi-monthly report is targeted toward non-technical stakeholders and the American public, to keep them informed of NASA's achievements in regaining human spaceflight leadership through American-made access to space.

"There is a lot happening in NASA's commercial crew and cargo programs and we want to make sure the public and our stakeholders are informed about the progress industry is making," said Phil McAlister, NASA's director of commercial spaceflight development. "It's exciting to see these spaceflight concepts move forward."

NASA's Commercial Crew Development program is investing financial and technical resources to stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate safe, reliable, and cost-effective space transportation capabilities.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/