Commercial Orbital Transportation Services

Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) is a NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

program to coordinate the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

by private companies. The program was announced on January 18, 2006. NASA has suggested that "Commercial services to ISS will be necessary through at least 2015."

COTS must be distinguished from the related Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. COTS relates to the development of the vehicles, CRS to the actual deliveries. COTS involves a number of Space Act Agreement

Space Act Agreement

Space Act Agreement is a type of legal agreement specified in the National Aeronautics and Space Act that established NASA. Agreements of this type have been reached under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services and Commercial Crew Development programs are examples of Space Act agreements...

s, with NASA providing milestone-based payments. COTS does not involve binding contracts. CRS on the other hand does involve legally binding contracts, which means the suppliers would be liable if they failed to perform. Commercial Crew Development

Commercial Crew Development

Commercial Crew Development is a multiphase space technology development program, funded by the U.S. government, and administered by NASA. The program is intended to stimulate development of privately operated crew vehicles to low Earth orbit. It is run by the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program...

(CCDev) is a related program, aimed specifically at developing crew rotation services. It is similar to COTS-D. All three programs are managed by NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO).

COTS must also be distinguished from Commercial off-the-shelf

Commercial off-the-shelf

In the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...

acquisition, which leverages ready-to-buy items and related cost savings for government use. That said, however, Commercial Orbital Transportation Services does intend to leverage commercially funded research and development for government use, thus realizing cost savings; a philosophy shared with Commercial off-the-shelf.

NASA signed agreements with Rocketplane Kistler

Rocketplane Kistler

Rocketplane Kistler was a reusable spacecraft firm originally based in Oklahoma before moving to Wisconsin. Formed in 2006 by Rocketplane Limited, Inc...

(RpK) and Alliant Techsystems

Alliant Techsystems

Alliant Techsystems Inc., most commonly known by its ticker symbol, ', is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States with more than 18,000 employees in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally, and 2010 revenues in excess of an estimated...

(ATK) in 2006, but later terminated the agreement with RpK due to insufficient private funding. NASA awarded another round of contracts for cargo delivery to the International Space Station in December 2008, to Orbital Sciences and SpaceX

SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...

to utilize their COTS cargo vehicles.

Purpose

Instead of flying payloads to the International Space Station

International Space Station

(ISS) on government-operated vehicles, NASA would spend $500 million (less than the cost of a single Space Shuttle flight) through 2010 to finance the demonstration of orbital transportation services from commercial providers. Unlike any previous NASA project, the proposed spacecraft are intended to be owned and financed primarily by the companies themselves and will be designed to serve both U.S. government agencies and commercial customers. NASA will contract for missions as its needs become clear.

This is more challenging than existent commercial space transportation because it requires precision orbit insertion

Orbit insertion

Orbit insertion is the spaceflight operation of adjusting a spacecraft’s momentum to allow for entry into a stable orbit around a planet, moon, or other celestial body...

, rendezvous and possibly docking with another spacecraft. The private spaceflight

Private spaceflight

Private spaceflight is flight above Earth altitude conducted by and paid for by an entity other than a government. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Union and United States pioneered space technology augmented by collaboration with affiliated design...

vendors are competing for four specific service areas:

Capability level A: External unpressurized cargo delivery and disposal
Capability level B: Internal pressurized cargo delivery and disposal
Capability level C: Internal pressurized cargo delivery, return and recovery
Capability level D: Crew Transportation.

Program rationale

NASA explored a program for ISS services in the mid 1990s entitled "Alt Access" for Alternate Access. While NASA funded Alt Access no further than preliminary studies, this program convinced numerous entrepreneurs that ISS could emerge as a significant market opportunity.

After years of keeping orbital transport for human spaceflight in-house, NASA concluded that firms in a free market

Free market

A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...

could develop and operate such a system more efficiently and affordably than a government bureaucracy

Bureaucracy

A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...

. The then NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin

Michael D. Griffin

Michael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer. From April 13, 2005 to January 20, 2009 he served as Administrator of NASA, the space agency of the United States...

stated that without affordable Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS), the agency will not have enough funds remaining to achieve the objectives of the Vision for Space Exploration

Vision for Space Exploration

The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy which was announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space...

. In November 2005, Dr. Griffin articulated that:

With the advent of the ISS

ISS

The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV...

, there will exist for the first time a strong, identifiable market for "routine" transportation service to and from LEO, and that this will be only the first step in what will be a huge opportunity for truly commercial space enterprise. We believe that when we engage the engine of competition, these services will be provided in a more cost-effective fashion than when the government has to do it.

Furthermore, if such services were unavailable by the end of 2010, NASA would be forced to purchase orbital transportation services on foreign spacecraft such as the Russian Federal Space Agency

Russian Federal Space Agency

The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...

's Soyuz

Soyuz spacecraft

Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...

and Progress spacecraft

Progress spacecraft

The Progress is a Russian expendable freighter spacecraft. The spacecraft is an unmanned resupply spacecraft during its flight but upon docking with a space station, it allows astronauts inside, hence it is classified manned by the manufacturer. It was derived from the Soyuz spacecraft, and is...

, the European Space Agency

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

's Automated Transfer Vehicle

Automated Transfer Vehicle

The Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is an expendable, unmanned resupply spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency . ATVs are designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload and experiments...

, or the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

The , or JAXA, is Japan's national aerospace agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on October 1, 2003, as an Independent Administrative Institution administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the...

's H-II Transfer Vehicle

H-II Transfer Vehicle

The H-II Transfer Vehicle , called , is an unmanned resupply spacecraft used to resupply the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module and the International Space Station . The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been working on the design since the early 1990s. The first mission, HTV-1, was originally...

since NASA's own Crew Exploration Vehicle

Crew Exploration Vehicle

The Crew Exploration Vehicle was the conceptual component of the U.S. NASA Vision for Space Exploration that later became known as the Orion spacecraft...

may not be ready until 2014. NASA asserts that once COTS is operational, it will no longer procure Russian cargo delivery services.

NASA anticipates that COTS services to ISS will be necessary through at least 2015. NASA projects at most a half-dozen COTS flights a year that would transport 10 tonnes annually. The NASA Administrator has suggested that space transportation services procurement may be expanded to orbital fuel depots

Propellant depot

An orbital propellant depot is a cache of propellant that is placed on an orbit about the Earth or another body to allow spacecraft to be fuelled in space. Launching a spacecraft separately from some of its propellant enables missions with more massive payloads...

and lunar surface deliveries should the first phase of COTS prove successful.

First round

In May 2006, NASA selected six semifinalist proposals for further evaluation.

On August 18, 2006, NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) announced that SpaceX

SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...

and RpK won Phase I of the COTS program. NASA planned to engage winners in funded Space Act agreements through 2010.

On November 8, 2006 RpK and ATK announced that ATK would become the lead contractor for the K-1.

NASA terminated the COTS agreement with RpK in September 2007 after NASA warned RpK that it had failed to raise sufficient private funding by the July 31, 2007 deadline, freeing up $175 million from the COTS budget to be awarded to another company or companies.

Second round

By June 18, 2007, NASA had signed separate non-reimbursable Space Act Agreements with four firms. These agreements included no financial support, however NASA agreed to share information to help the companies to develop their proposed vehicles.

On October 22, 2007, NASA solicited proposals for the $175 million in unawarded first round funds. Some of the new contenders who entered before the deadline in November 2007 for the funding were Spacehab

SPACEHAB

Astrotech Corporation , formerly Spacehab Inc., is an aerospace company headquartered in Austin, Texas which provides commercial space products and services to NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, international space agencies, and global commercial customers...

, t/Space

T/Space

t/Space is an American aerospace company which was participating in NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program for delivering cargo and crew to the International Space Station. The company's CEO is Charles Duelfer who ran the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the...

, Andrews Space

Andrews Space

Andrews Space is a small aerospace company based in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1999 to develop space systems. Andrews provides aerospace services for commercial, civil, and military clients.-Current projects:...

, PlanetSpace

PlanetSpace

PlanetSpace is a privately funded Chicago-based rocket and space travel project founded by Geoff Sheerin, CEO of the Canadian Arrow corporation and Dr...

and SpaceDev

SpaceDev

SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceShipOne space program operated by Scaled Composites...

.

In January 2008 industry sources claimed that the field had been downselected to four; Spacehab, Andrews Space, PlanetSpace and Orbital Sciences, with the announcement date set to February 7. Several sources have since suggested that Boeing and not Andrews is a final contestant.

On February 19, 2008, the second round selection was made to Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital Sciences Corporation is an American company which specializes in the manufacturing and launch of satellites. Its Launch Systems Group is heavily involved with missile defense launch systems...

, for the Cygnus spacecraft

Cygnus spacecraft

The Cygnus spacecraft is an unmanned resupply spacecraft being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Thales Alenia Space as part of NASA's COTS project. It is designed to transport supplies to the International Space Station after the retirement of the Space Shuttle...

. NASA's selection statement showed that Orbital beat Boeing on expected lower costs and the added benefit of a new medium lift launcher Taurus II with Andrews, PlanetSpace and Spacehab being eliminated on funding concerns.

Awards

Rocketplane Kistler
Rocketplane Kistler
Rocketplane Kistler was a reusable spacecraft firm originally based in Oklahoma before moving to Wisconsin. Formed in 2006 by Rocketplane Limited, Inc...

— originally awarded $207 million; only $32.1 million disbursed before NASA termination in October 2007.
SpaceX
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...

— awarded $278 million; competing for additional funds.
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation is an American company which specializes in the manufacturing and launch of satellites. Its Launch Systems Group is heavily involved with missile defense launch systems...

— awarded $170 million in the second round in February 2008.

Competitors

More than twenty organizations submitted COTS proposals in March 2006 of which twenty were publicly disclosed. NASA received new COTS proposals from at least seven firms by November 21, 2007.

Company	Spacecraft Spacecraft A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....	Launch vehicle Launch vehicle In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space. A launch system includes the launch vehicle, the launch pad and other infrastructure....	Partner
Orbital Sciences	Cygnus Cygnus spacecraft The Cygnus spacecraft is an unmanned resupply spacecraft being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and Thales Alenia Space as part of NASA's COTS project. It is designed to transport supplies to the International Space Station after the retirement of the Space Shuttle...	Taurus II Taurus II Taurus II is an expendable launch system being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to into low-Earth orbit...
SpaceX SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...	Dragon	Falcon 9 Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Both stages of its two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants...
Andrews Space Andrews Space Andrews Space is a small aerospace company based in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1999 to develop space systems. Andrews provides aerospace services for commercial, civil, and military clients.-Current projects:...	Andrews Cargo Module Andrews Cargo Module The Andrews Cargo Module was a proposed design for an unmanned resupply spacecraft which would deliver cargo to the International Space Station . Andrews Space proposed to NASA that spacecraft of this design be used for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program...	Hercules Andrews Space Andrews Space is a small aerospace company based in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1999 to develop space systems. Andrews provides aerospace services for commercial, civil, and military clients.-Current projects:...	Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc., most commonly known by its ticker symbol, ', is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States with more than 18,000 employees in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally, and 2010 revenues in excess of an estimated... , MDA MacDonald Dettwiler MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. is a Richmond, British Columbia-based Canadian aerospace, information services and products company, employing over 3000 people throughout Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, under the MDA brand name....
Boeing Boeing Integrated Defense Systems Boeing Defense, Space & Security formerly known as Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a unit of The Boeing Company responsible for defense and aerospace products and services. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems was formed in 2002 by combining the former "Military Aircraft and Missile Systems"...	Automated Transfer Vehicle	Delta IV Delta IV rocket Delta IV is an active expendable launch system in the Delta rocket family. Delta IV uses rockets designed by Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems division and built in the United Launch Alliance facility in Decatur, Alabama. Final assembly is completed at the launch site by ULA...	Arianespace Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme.... , EADS Astrium EADS Astrium Astrium Satellites is one of the three business units of Astrium, a subsidiary of EADS. It is a European space manufacturer involved in the manufacture of spacecraft used for science, Earth observation and telecommunication, as well as the equipment and subsystems used therein and related ground...
PlanetSpace PlanetSpace PlanetSpace is a privately funded Chicago-based rocket and space travel project founded by Geoff Sheerin, CEO of the Canadian Arrow corporation and Dr...	Orbital Transfer Vehicle Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....	Athena III	Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc., most commonly known by its ticker symbol, ', is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States with more than 18,000 employees in 22 states, Puerto Rico and internationally, and 2010 revenues in excess of an estimated... , Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
SpaceHab SPACEHAB Astrotech Corporation , formerly Spacehab Inc., is an aerospace company headquartered in Austin, Texas which provides commercial space products and services to NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, international space agencies, and global commercial customers...	ARCTUS ARCTUS ARCTUS was a proposed design by Astrotech Corporation for a robotic spacecraft that would deliver cargo to the International Space Station. ARCTUS was planned to be launched by an Atlas V rocket...	Atlas V Atlas V Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...	Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
Rocketplane Kistler Rocketplane Kistler Rocketplane Kistler was a reusable spacecraft firm originally based in Oklahoma before moving to Wisconsin. Formed in 2006 by Rocketplane Limited, Inc...	K-1	K-1	Orbital Sciences
Venturer Aerospace	S-550 Space capsule S-550 Space capsule The S-550 was a proposed manned space capsule, designed in 2005-6 at Venturer Aerospace, in response to the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program to provide commercial resupply and logistics support for the International Space Station....	Falcon 9 Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Both stages of its two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants...	SpaceX SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...
SpaceDev SpaceDev SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceShipOne space program operated by Scaled Composites...	Dream Chaser	Atlas V Atlas V Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...	Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
t/Space T/Space t/Space is an American aerospace company which was participating in NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program for delivering cargo and crew to the International Space Station. The company's CEO is Charles Duelfer who ran the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the...	Crew Transfer Vehicle	QuickReach AirLaunch LLC AirLaunch LLC was an aerospace design and development company headquartered in Kirkland, Washington. They hope to provide launch services for launching payloads into orbits around the Earth. This is to be realized through a method called air launch where a rocket is carried within an aircraft and...	AirLaunch AirLaunch LLC AirLaunch LLC was an aerospace design and development company headquartered in Kirkland, Washington. They hope to provide launch services for launching payloads into orbits around the Earth. This is to be realized through a method called air launch where a rocket is carried within an aircraft and...
Constellation Services International Constellation Services International Constellation Services International is a company operating in the space tourism sector. It intends to utilise existing Russian Soyuz spacecraft to send paying customers to the Moon. Customers will spend a week aboard the International Space Station before flying to the Moon, where they will spend...	Progress Progress spacecraft The Progress is a Russian expendable freighter spacecraft. The spacecraft is an unmanned resupply spacecraft during its flight but upon docking with a space station, it allows astronauts inside, hence it is classified manned by the manufacturer. It was derived from the Soyuz spacecraft, and is...	Soyuz	RKK Energia
Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....	ATV Automated Transfer Vehicle The Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is an expendable, unmanned resupply spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency . ATVs are designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload and experiments... , H-II Transfer Vehicle H-II Transfer Vehicle The H-II Transfer Vehicle , called , is an unmanned resupply spacecraft used to resupply the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module and the International Space Station . The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been working on the design since the early 1990s. The first mission, HTV-1, was originally...	Atlas V Atlas V Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...	EADS Astrium EADS Astrium Astrium Satellites is one of the three business units of Astrium, a subsidiary of EADS. It is a European space manufacturer involved in the manufacture of spacecraft used for science, Earth observation and telecommunication, as well as the equipment and subsystems used therein and related ground... , JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The , or JAXA, is Japan's national aerospace agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on October 1, 2003, as an Independent Administrative Institution administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the...
PanAero Len Cormier Len Cormier worked for many years in the U.S. aerospace industry, in government, large industry, and as a private entrepreneur....	Space Van Len Cormier Len Cormier worked for many years in the U.S. aerospace industry, in government, large industry, and as a private entrepreneur....	Space Van Len Cormier Len Cormier worked for many years in the U.S. aerospace industry, in government, large industry, and as a private entrepreneur....
Space Systems/Loral Space Systems/Loral Space Systems/Loral , of Palo Alto, California, is the wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications. It was acquired in 1990 for $715 million by Loral Corp. from Ford Motor Company as the Space Systems Division of Ford Aerospace...	Space Tug	Aquarius Space Systems/Loral Space Systems/Loral , of Palo Alto, California, is the wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications. It was acquired in 1990 for $715 million by Loral Corp. from Ford Motor Company as the Space Systems Division of Ford Aerospace...	Constellation Services International Constellation Services International Constellation Services International is a company operating in the space tourism sector. It intends to utilise existing Russian Soyuz spacecraft to send paying customers to the Moon. Customers will spend a week aboard the International Space Station before flying to the Moon, where they will spend...
Advent Launch Services
Exploration Partners
Odyssey Space Research Odyssey Space Research Odyssey Space Research, LLC is a small business based in Houston, Texas near NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center providing engineering research and analysis services...
Thortek Laboratories
Triton Systems

Commercial Resupply Services

On December 22, 2008, NASA stated they would discuss the contract selection to provide commercial cargo resupply services for the International Space Station. NASA announced the awarding of contracts to both SpaceX

SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...

and Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital Sciences Corporation

in a press conference on December 23, 2008. The contracts include a minimum of 12 missions for SpaceX and 8 missions for Orbital Sciences. PlanetSpace submitted a protest to the Government Accountability Office

Government Accountability Office

The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...

after receiving a NASA debriefing on the outcome of the award. On April 22, 2009 GAO publicly released its decision to deny the protest.

Cygnus will launch with the Taurus II

Taurus II

Taurus II is an expendable launch system being developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to into low-Earth orbit...

rocket from Launch Pad 0B

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0

Launch Pad 0, Pad 0 or LP-0, also known as Launch Area 0 or LA-0, is a launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in the United States. Prior to 2003, the complex was part of the Wallops Flight Facility. It consists of two individual launch pads, LP-0A and LP-0B...

at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport is a commercial space launch facility located at the southern tip of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Delmarva Peninsula south of Chincoteague, Virginia.-Background:...

, Wallops Island

Wallops Island

Wallops Island is a island off the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States of America.It is located in Accomack County, Virginia...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. Its first launch is scheduled for March 2011. Dragon will launch with the Falcon 9

Falcon 9

Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Both stages of its two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants...

rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...

, Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral, Florida

Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,829 at the 2000 census. As of 2008, the estimated population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 10,147...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. It began test launches in 2010.

SpaceX

SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...

launched their first Falcon 9

Falcon 9

Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Both stages of its two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants...

rocket and a mock-up Dragon capsule successfully on June 4, 2010. The first resupply demonstration flight, Dragon C1, took place on 8 December 2010, demonstrating the Dragon capsule's multiple orbit capability, ability to receive and respond to ground commands, and ability to gain and maintain directional alignment with NASA's TDRSS narrow-band satellite communication system which is used in conjunction with all manned spaceflight to the International Space Station. On 15 August 2011 SpaceX announced NASA had agreed to allow the combination of the COTS Demo Flight 2

COTS Demo Flight 2

Dragon C2, also known as COTS Demo Flight 2, is a planned second test-flight for SpaceX's unpiloted Dragon cargo spacecraft, and the third overall flight for the company's two-stage Falcon 9 launch vehicle....

and 3 missions into a single mission with a tentative launch date in January or February 2012. If all goes according to plan the Dragon spacecraft will berth with the ISS on 9 December 2011. SpaceX expects to be paid for completing all demonstration flights if it successfully completes the mission objectives of COTS Demo 3 during the second demo mission.

External links

NASA - Commercial Partners Are Making Progress, but Face Aggressive Schedules to Demonstrate Critical Space Station Cargo Transport Capabilities (U.S. GAO
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...

, June, 2009)
COTS - Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
The COTS Enigma
Private ventures vie to service space station (MSNBC, March 20, 2006)
Advent Going for COTS - Dispatches from the Final Frontier, March 17, 2006
Venturer Space COTS Proposal: The S-550 - Selenian Boondocks, March 17, 2006
Venturer Aerospace pursues NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services contract - March 15, 2006
ISS supply competitors break cover - Flight International, March 14, 2006
SpaceX raises its sights by Alan Boyle, Cosmic Log, March 9, 2006
Finishing the space station: an essential part of the Vision by Taylor Dinerman, The Space Review, March 6, 2006
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Demonstrations - NASA procurement site
The importance of Alternate Access
NASA changes focus of ISS Cargo Delivery Plans by Keith Cowing, NASA Watch October 7, 2003
ISS COTS History A review of the COTS program
COTS 1.5 Roundup Overview on the second COTS round, January 7, 2008

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