Sees Reliance On Commercial Space Companies As The Correct Policy Direction

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation said Wednesday it welcomes President Obama's new National Space Policy, which underscores the importance of commercial spaceflight for American economic growth and leadership in space. 

"The National Space Policy reinforces the President's new plan for NASA, particularly the use of commercial providers for transport of crew and cargo to the International Space Station," said Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.  "The National Space Policy recognizes the benefits of a robust commercial space industry and lays down a series of clear policies to enable further growth of this sector." 

Alexander added, "Importantly, the National Space Policy document states that government space systems will only be developed if there is no suitable commercial system that is or will be available, a strong declaration that the government will support and not compete with emerging commercial space services."

Bretton Alexander

The importance of promoting commercial spaceflight is heavily emphasized throughout the National Space Policy document, establishing as a guiding principle that "a robust and competitive commercial space sector is vital to continued progress in space."  The policy further states that the U.S. government will "promote a robust domestic commercial space industry, […] refrain from conducting United States Government space activities that preclude, discourage, or compete with U.S. commercial space activities, [… and] pursue potential opportunities for transferring routine, operational space functions to the commercial space sector where beneficial and cost-effective," among other pro-commercial actions.

FMI: www.commercialspaceflight.org