Boeing Shut Out Of Freight Role With Unmanned CST-100

NASA will take some more time before awarding new contracts for transporting cargo to the International Space Station, the agency said Thursday. A procurement website has been updated to indicate that the second round of CRS-2 (Commercial Resupply Services) contracts would now be announced no later than January 30th.

Spaceflight Now reports that according to the notice, the delay will "allow additional time for the government to assess proposals."

The agency is expected to select two companies for contracts, but apparently Boeing will not be among them. Boeing spokesperson Kelly Kaplan confirmed that NASA has informed them that an unmanned version of the human-rated CST-100 Starliner capsule was no longer under consideration for a CRS-2 contract. CST-100 is one of two commercial spacecraft being developed to transport people to ISS from American launch facilities.

Orbital ATK and Sierra Nevada both told Spaceflight Now that they are still in the running for a CRS-2 contract. Currently, Orbital and SpaceX have commercial resupply contracts and each has had one spacecraft fail to reach the orbiting outpost.

Lockheed Martin is also reportedly developing a cargo vessel (pictured) that would incorporate the newly-developed Jupiter spacecraft with an Exoliner cargo module. Under that scenario, the Jupiter satellite would loiter in orbit between missions, then mate up with the expendable Exoliner, transport it to the space station, and then pull them away and dispose of them.

(Images from file)

FMI: www.nasa.gov