快猫短视频

NASA has delivered a surprising vote of confidence to America鈥檚 nascent
civilian spaceflight community. Until now, the US space agency has been deeply
sceptical of private companies鈥� plans to reach Earth orbit, but last week it
paid four small aerospace companies to study the potential of 鈥渆merging launch
systems鈥� as back-up cargo launchers for the International Space Station
(ISS).

For two of those companies鈥擧MX of Reno, Nevada, and Kistler Aerospace
of Kirkland, Washington鈥攖his is their first NASA contract. They will each
receive around $250 000 to study the logistics of getting cargo to the
ISS in an emergency. The contracts mark a warming between NASA and private
launch companies. 鈥淭here was a period in the 1970s and 1980s in which NASA was
actively hostile,鈥� says Gary Hudson, president of HMX. 鈥淭hen [NASA chief] Dan
Goldin came in and that started to change dramatically.鈥� But even last year,
Goldin dismissed some civilian attempts as 鈥済immicks鈥�
(快猫短视频, 8 May 1999, p 19).

NASA鈥檚 interest may have been spurred by recent delays in ISS construction,
says George Mueller, chief executive officer of Kistler. 鈥淭he Russians have been
having trouble meeting their commitments, so NASA is trying to find a back-up,鈥�
he says.

But Dan Dumbacher, manager of the Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle
Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, insists:
鈥淭his is not meant in any way, shape, or form to replace the foreign partners
and their [ISS] re-supply capabilities.鈥�

Hudson hopes the US Congress will set aside some of the space budget for
them: 鈥淲e鈥檙e a little like the mammals among the dinosaurs,鈥� Hudson says, 鈥渏ust
waiting for our chance.鈥�