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Now that Constellation, the Orion capsule & Ares moon rockets, has been discontinued these are who NASA is depending on to keep us flying. Some old line companies, many new and it looks like with a lot of cooperation and competition.
Why so many capsules/spaceplanes? Redundancy and competition. When the shuttle was grounded we had no way up. With multiple launchers and vehicles that risk is pretty much gone. And because these were developed mostly with private funding a big hole in NASA's budget shrinks.
SpaceX will be first out of the gate - their first launch window opens at 11:00 AM March 8, 2010. That is to be followed by 3 rehearsal flights for their huge ISS resupply contract.
Ad Astra Aerospace: a recently ordered space tug powered by the VASIMR plasma rocket. Wow - a solar or nuclear powered deep space drive that could very well evolve into a fusion drive. Imagine that one.
Blur Origin: low cost liquid-fueled "pusher" launch abort system (no tower - it sits below the spacecraft) and New Shepard capsule & launcher
Bigelow Aerospace/Boeing alliance: inflatable large & small scale habitats, Orion Lite 6-7 man capsules & a man-rated Delta IV launcher
Lockheed Martin: tied to Boring through their ULA joint venture they presented a marvelous plan for orbital and deep space fuel depots, Space 1999-like lunar transports and a lot more. Lots of tech from the new guys could make it happen.
Orbital Science: Cygnus cargo capsule & Taurus II launcher they also have a big ISS resupply contract.. Manned version rumored on the boards, but unconfirmed.
Paragon Aerospace: environmental systems, waste & fluids recycling and life support. Rumors are NASA wants these systems standardized across all these vehicles.
Sierra Nevada/SpaceDev: hybrid rockets (used on SpaceShilTwo) and the Dream Chaser spaceplane. 6 passengers + cargo & can land anywhere.
SpaceX: 7 passenger Dragon cargo/crew capsule; DragonLab reserch/military ops capsule; Falcon 9, Falcon 9 Heavy and Falcon 9 Heavy H boosters.
United Launch Alliance (ULA): man-rated Atlas booster, mostly for Orion Lite & Dream Chaser, but could back up Falcon 9 and Delta IV.
Why so many capsules/spaceplanes? Redundancy and competition. When the shuttle was grounded we had no way up. With multiple launchers and vehicles that risk is pretty much gone. And because these were developed mostly with private funding a big hole in NASA's budget shrinks.
SpaceX will be first out of the gate - their first launch window opens at 11:00 AM March 8, 2010. That is to be followed by 3 rehearsal flights for their huge ISS resupply contract.
Ad Astra Aerospace: a recently ordered space tug powered by the VASIMR plasma rocket. Wow - a solar or nuclear powered deep space drive that could very well evolve into a fusion drive. Imagine that one.
Blur Origin: low cost liquid-fueled "pusher" launch abort system (no tower - it sits below the spacecraft) and New Shepard capsule & launcher
Bigelow Aerospace/Boeing alliance: inflatable large & small scale habitats, Orion Lite 6-7 man capsules & a man-rated Delta IV launcher
Lockheed Martin: tied to Boring through their ULA joint venture they presented a marvelous plan for orbital and deep space fuel depots, Space 1999-like lunar transports and a lot more. Lots of tech from the new guys could make it happen.
Orbital Science: Cygnus cargo capsule & Taurus II launcher they also have a big ISS resupply contract.. Manned version rumored on the boards, but unconfirmed.
Paragon Aerospace: environmental systems, waste & fluids recycling and life support. Rumors are NASA wants these systems standardized across all these vehicles.
Sierra Nevada/SpaceDev: hybrid rockets (used on SpaceShilTwo) and the Dream Chaser spaceplane. 6 passengers + cargo & can land anywhere.
SpaceX: 7 passenger Dragon cargo/crew capsule; DragonLab reserch/military ops capsule; Falcon 9, Falcon 9 Heavy and Falcon 9 Heavy H boosters.
United Launch Alliance (ULA): man-rated Atlas booster, mostly for Orion Lite & Dream Chaser, but could back up Falcon 9 and Delta IV.