A new vision for NASA, where crew and cargo transport to the International Space Station is privatised, emerged last week after remarks by the agency's administrator Charles Bolden.
The former Shuttle astronaut made it clear that he has already decided a heavylift rocket is needed for exploration and that commercial companies should provide access to low Earth orbit. These would make up a substantial part of any spaceflight vision.
Every word from Bolden is being scrutinised, with the Space Shuttle fleet to be retired in 2010 and its replacement, the Ares I rocket and its Orion crew exploration vehicle, under threat of cancellation because of cost problems.
So it was all the more surprising to hear the new administrator express his views before he has even received the final report of US President Barack Obama's human spaceflight review, which will rate options that Bolden will discuss with the president for the new vision. NASA's new vision will be Obama's choice, but Bolden's opinions will hold great sway.
But the really significant surprise from Bolden is not that a heavy rocket may one day help send humans to Mars - it is that NASA will be committed to commercial LEO transport, where tourists travel to private space stations that are also used for corporate research. This truly opens the final frontier to everyone.
Source: Flight International
