NASA, FAA Collaborate On Commercial Space Travel

NASA, FAA Collaborate On Commercial Space Travel

Space agency increasingly turns to private sector partners for services, so feds seek to ensure safety and minimize overlapping efforts with a new cross-agency agreement.

NASA and the FAA on Monday announced plans to work together on standards for commercial space travel, an attempt to avoid conflict and duplication of effort as private sector companies increasingly transport astronauts into low-Earth orbit and to the International Space Station.

The agencies reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) based on their common, "interdependent" interests in ensuring that commercial space flights to the ISS are safe and effective. They agreed to share data and information in support of those goals.


The agreement follows last month's launch....

Well I've been [as many here already know] an Avid NASA and all other Nations/Agencies space exploration supporter and was for a time a firm advocator of the commercialization of space. [It will happen sooner or later] which IMO would have sped up both the advancement of technology and knowledge as well as our expansion into space.

I wrote a thread a while back questioning whether NASA should be replaced with an all Commercial and Private sector activities. I've changed my mind a bit since then and now think this newer proposal may, for the time being be a more logical approach.

Your thoughts?

NASA has finally learned when to be hands on, and when to be hands off, when it comes to the private sector in space. The real problem is going to be congress. They want to create a privatized NASA that they can control like they already do with NASA through funding. They can't stand the thought of a private company being in any kind of charge of our space program.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Thanks for posting your perspective

There was a really good article on theaviationist.com about how Congress is cutting NASA's budget for commercial space flight, and forcing them to go from a single supplier to more than one, and some other changes that would basically make a second NASA they could control, but I can't seem to find it now.

reply to post by SLAYER69


I fully agree with you, the commercialization of space is in my belief inevitable in the whole scheme of things. Im also an avid supporter of NASA even after looking through some of their blunders. My thought is that commercialization will happen anyways but it will happen faster with more cohesive cooperation with government agencies since they already have experience. Just my two cents.

Thanks for posting.

reply to post by heyitsphil


The problem with Commercialization of space is two fold IMO. History has shown us that although there is progress there is also exploitation of resources and pollution.

The same problem exists with corporations as with nations. Only a couple do it, and that gives them....



Nations and commercial interests married together is more likely to create innovation, and competition. One sets the bar, the other tries to leap it and the bar gets reset. Commercial interests typically don't constrain themselves until they must, and working to the lowest possible standards, and that's what the public market expects out of them. Added costs for no good reason is contrary to the mandate to create profit for stockholders as their primary function. It could even be argued that in working to higher standards than are necessary that trade corporations are breaking the law.