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MSD · 07-21-2011, 08:05 AM

Awesome news that's chipped away a tiny splinter of my cynicism: NASA is working to help certify the Atlas 5 for passengers. SpaceX may be certified for ISS resupply as early as the end of this year, a little competition for passenger launches can't hurt.

Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | NASA agrees to help modify Atlas 5 rocket for astronauts

Quote:

United Launch Alliance and NASA will share technical data to help ready the company's Atlas 5 rocket for astronaut passengers, officials announced Monday.

The agreement places the Atlas 5 rocket among the top competitors to launch the next piloted spacecraft from U.S. soil after the retirement of the space shuttle.

"I am truly excited about the addition of ULA to NASA's Commercial Crew Development program team," said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden. "Having ULA on board may speed the development of a commercial crew transportation system for the International Space Station, allowing NASA to concentrate its resources on exploring beyond low Earth orbit."

Colorado-based United Launch Alliance was passed over in NASA's last Commercial Crew Development, or CCDev, competition. When the agency announced the winners in April, officials said they gave priority to spacecraft developers because rockets would take less time to modify for manned flights.

NASA divided $270 million among four companies in the April announcement, giving $92.3 million to Boeing, $80 million to Sierra Nevada Corp., $75 million to SpaceX and $22 million to Blue Origin. The competition was the second round of NASA's CCDev program, which provides federal funding to U.S. space companies building commercial human-rated spacecraft.

All of the winners are designing spacecraft to carry astronauts to and from low Earth orbit destinations such as the International Space Station.

But the space vehicles will need rockets to send them into orbit. Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin could launch their spacecraft on ULA rockets.

Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin have selected the Atlas 5 rocket to launch their spaceships. Sierra Nevada is working on a lifting body space plane named the Dream Chaser and Blue Origin, headed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, is developing a biconic capsule called the New Shepard.

[more in the link]