The House Science Committee held a hearing about the commercial crew initiative in which NASA proposes to finance the development of private space taxis to take astronauts to and from low Earth orbit.
The program encountered a great deal of skepticism from most members of the committee, with the exception, as always, of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.
Why do the congressmen have a problem with the Commercial Crew program?
As suggested by Chairman Ralph Hall's opening statement, most of the members of the committee are deeply skeptical that the participants in the commercial crew program are going to develop private markets for their vehicles in the near future. This would mean that the federal government would be in the position of financing a "commercial space sector" whose sole purpose would be to service government contracts. Lack of private markets may lead to a government bailout of commercial space companies.
But what about reliance on the Russia Soyuz?
The members of the committee are not very happy with that, for political and other reasons. However when one calculates that $6 billion price tag it will take to develop the commercial space ships, it might actually be cheaper to stick with the Russians, despite the confiscatory prices they are charging.
How did the witnesses from the commercial space companies respond to the criticisms?
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, offered his personal guarantee that the government would not have to bail out his company. Musk also claimed that he can charge per seat about a third of what Russia is now charging. In his statement, Musk also claimed significant improvements in flight safety for his Dragon space ship compared to the Russian Soyuz. Representatives of other companies such as Boeing, Sierra Nevada Space Systems, ATK Space Launch Systems and United Launch Alliance claimed that their businesses would be successful even if NASA were the sole customer.
But there is some thought to developing private markets, right?
Satellite servicing, cargo hauling, and taking paying customers on rides to low Earth orbit were mentioned. These potential markets did not seem to be firm, but rather in the form of "forward looking statements."
When would the commercial space ships be available?
All of the commercial witnesses claimed that their spacecraft would be ready to fly in advance of the official NASA date of 2017. Musk, for example, said that the Dragon could be ready to take astronauts in 2014, given adequate funding.
Will there be adequate funding?
That, as always, is the $6 billion question. Commercial space is competing with the space exploration program and the James Webb Space Telescope for funding. Musk is saying that he has invested $500 million of his own money in his space venture. If Congress falls short of projected funding, could the private players take up the slack to keep the commercial space ship projects on schedule? Past experience, as with the 1990s era Delta Clipper project, suggests not. But time will only tell.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times and The Weekly Standard.
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