Space Commission Recommends Much Greater Space Role For Private Firms

As Mojave Airport becomes a spaceport and Scaled Composites gets ready for a shot at the Ansari X-Prize, it's perhaps not surprising that the government is thinking more and more about getting private firms involved in the exploration of space.

The President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy said this week that the private sector should take on the "primary role" beyond our atmosphere.

"In NASA decisions, the preferred choice for operational activities must be completely awarded contracts with private and non-profit organizations, and NASA's role must be limited to only those areas where there is irrefutable demonstration that only government can perform the proposed activity," said the report. Those areas would include advance aerospace projects and exploration, according to the commission.

The report comes just days before Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites prepares to send its own reusable spacecraft 62-miles up in hopes of collecting the $10 million Ansari X-Prize. The mission received no government funds. Instead, it's backed by Microsoft investor Paul Allen. Scaled's SpaceShipOne is scheduled to make its suborbital attempt on June 21st.

FMI: www.scaled.com