NASA banks on private space firms
NASA has recently retired the space shuttle and has been mired by a series of launch failures. At times when finances are tight, it makes sense to start outsourcing some activities.
The immediate winner of this decision seems to be Internet turned space entrepreneur Elon Musk. Musk used his bounty from the successful sale of Paypal to Ebay to seed a startup SpaceX. SpaceX was preferred to standard behemoths like Lockheed Martin in the hope that it could fulfil contracts faster and more cheaply. The move is being hailed as a step towards bringing some of the glory of the Space Age back to the Southern California.
The first contract awarded to SpaceX involves 1.6 billion dollars and includes 12 flights to re-supply the International Space Station. The first such trip is planned for 2010. Space X is also working on a cargo capsule that can transport several astronauts at once.
While space business analysts recognize the cost savings NASA is anticipating from this move, they are wary of the risks involved. SpaceX is currently a small startup with no track record of success on such missions. It is planning to ramp up scale over the coming years to serve its current contract. If it succeeds, expect the mushrooming of rival startups all over.
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