Finally, Someone in Huntsville is Beginning to Understand Commercial Space

Five months into the debate over the Obama Administration’s plans for NASA, some people in Huntsville seem to be finally grasping that their area can actually play a major role in commercial human spaceflight industry. And the timing is quite curious.

WHNT News reports:

Former Congressman Bud Cramer says commercial space efforts are already underway in Huntsville at Boeing and the United Launch Alliance plant in Decatur.

“There’s a role for commercial space, and we’re not at war with that. Commercial space employers are all around us here, and more are interested in coming here, but we’ve got to be careful that we don’t turn over human space exploration strictly to commercial space,” said Cramer…

Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a winner!

ULA has a rocket plant in the Huntsville area. The company builds rockets the Atlas V and Delta IV that could be used to send astronauts not only to the International Space Station but to Bigelow Aerospace’s planned commercial space stations. And Boeing is willing to build the capsule for both missions on a fixed-cost basis.

The commercial companies wouldn’t be taking over all human exploration, just transport to Earth orbit. NASA would still oversee human missions into deep space, which it could start up again once orbital transport was commercialized.

This is what people have been trying to tell you for months. Why has it taken this long to figure it?

My guess is this sudden revelation has a lot to do with efforts in the Senate to preserve the current heavy-lift vehicle program that is run by NASA Marshall in Huntsville. Instead of a four- to five-year effort to study new technology as the Obama Administration proposed, the full program would be preserved under a budget proposal being championed by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson.

Cramer says Friday, the Senate Authorizing Committee started to push back on the Administration’s plan for NASA. He says one of the messages from the committee was heavy lift technology is something the government needs to run. According to Cramer, this could be the beginning of a compromise between the Obama Administration and Congress.

The plan would maintain high employment in Alabama on an existing program, which makes the budget palatable for the state’s politicians. Alabama also has a chance to snag additional work under NASA’s proposed $6 billion commercial human space program if one of ULA’s rockets is chosen for funding. So, it’s possible that Alabama ends up with a net increase in money and jobs if the Senate proposal is adopted.