Commercial Space Contractors Fight to Keep the Shuttles Alive

A number of contractors are holding their breath in the hope that NASA will release their old space shuttles and rocket technology and allow them to be used for commercial flights.  With the iconic program completing its final flight this year, there are sure to be lots of space CEOs out there hoping to snag themselves a space ship and make all their boyhood dreams come true.

The United Space Alliance (USA) are one group that hopes to keep the old shuttles in the skies.  This Boeing-Lockheed-Martin joint venture wants to retain all three of the iconic shuttles – Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour – for commercial flights that would occur twice a year.  However, there is no doubt that this proposal is a long shot, with the group involved needing for some pretty massive NASA funding.

One other commercial possibility involves the transformation of the Ares I rocket into the Liberty, using technology from the European Ariane 5 rocket together with a longer version of the space shuttle booster made by Alliant Techsystems (ATK).  This proposal has an even grander vision than the Boeing-Lockheed-Martin project, and is also planning more flights at between four to six per year.

“The main purpose of the Liberty is to launch people safely and cost-effectively into space,” said ATK Liberty Launch System program manager Kent Rominger. “But whereas the space shuttle weighs around 250,000 lbs. and isn’t designed to move beyond a low-Earth orbit, the Liberty rocket can transport payloads of roughly 30,000 to 44,000 lbs. well beyond low-Earth orbit.”

The Liberty project may be slightly more likely to happen however, as while it is also seeking part of the NASA US$200 million stash, it isn’t dependent on the USA’s shuttle redux.  The Liberty project would use a much smaller space capsule or space plane, is safer, and could operate at a lower cost than the shuttles.

However, the USA group are still optimistic, saying “More than 46 years since humans first ventured into space, people around the world continue to be directly impacted by the thousands of benefits stemming from exploration.”

No matter who gets the nod – I would like a ticket please.