Private space efforts get lift

The linkup last week of a privately built capsule with the international space station boosted the prospects of commercial spacecraft shuttling U.S. astronauts into orbit, though Capitol Hill disputes continued to threaten the possibility. For more than two years, National Aeronautics and Space Administration leaders and congressional critics have disagreed about budgets, timing and safety issues. By 2017, NASA wants to outsource to private companies all cargo and manned trips to the space station, which orbits 240 miles above the Earth. Some of the legislative clashes may be easing. Industry officials and space experts said political support for NASA's strategy seemed to be gaining momentum four days after Space Explorations Technologies Corp.'s unmanned Dragon capsule became the first privately built and operated vehicle to dock at the space station. Regular cargo runs to the space station by SpaceX, as the Southern California company is known, may start as soon as the fall. The SpaceX success strengthens NASA's position because it undermines the arguments of critics who maintain that outsourcing cargo as well as crew transportation to private industry remains too risky, said John Logsdon, professor emeritus of space studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Now, Mr. Logsdon said it might be easier politically for some to abandon their long-standing opposition to NASA's priorities. Howard McCurdy, a space-policy expert who teaches at American University in Washington, D.C., agreed the SpaceX flight's success looked to be political as well as technical. "There is momentum already" behind commercial options, but such a technical feat "is bound to mean a positive political impact" and "strengthen the position of those who have argued this was the way to go." SpaceX has competitors for the manned missions, including Alliant Techsystems Inc., ATK +0.66% Sierra Nevada Corp., Boeing Co. BA +0.57% and a start-up called Blue Origin, run by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. Still, some of the agency's most outspoken congressional critics remain opposed to private spaceflight, which they fear could threaten jobs and contractors in their home states. Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican who has been among those most opposed to NASA's outsourcing drive, said over the Memorial Day weekend that "SpaceX has spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to launch a rocket nearly three years later than planned." Elon Musk, SpaceX's brash founder and chief executive, has alienated some lawmakers who would prefer to see a rival get the nod instead for future NASA manned missions, according to industry and government experts. But they said last week's successful launch makes it harder to quickly cut SpaceX out of the mix. The company had no immediate comment. House and Senate bills already have trimmed about $300 million from the more than $800 million total that NASA requested for 2013 to provide seed money to support a number of commercial crew projects. NASA originally envisioned starting private manned flights by 2015. The agency says expected spending cuts will delay those flights by at least two years, however. Many House Republican leaders want to go further by barring the agency from supporting multiple projects, arguing that would avoid duplication and end up saving taxpayers money. As a result of these clashes, government and industry officials said, it isn't clear how many private astronaut-transportation projects will thrive, or when NASA may be able to end its reliance on Russia for such services. U.S. astronauts became dependent on Moscow when America's space shuttles were retired last summer. Four days before the launch of SpaceX's Dragon's, Lori Garver, NASA's No. 2 official, reiterated arguments urging Congress to approve full funding and allow multiple projects. "We believe that competition is the key to accelerating this program," she told reporters Mr. McCurdy of American University concurred, saying "NASA was most creative when it had to compete with the Soviet Union." In a similar way, Mr. McCurdy said he believes competition is essential today to control costs and spur innovation. But over the past few months, Rep. Ralph Hall, the Texas Republican who heads the House Science Committee, and Republican Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia, chairman of a NASA appropriations subcommittee, have balked at NASA's requests. During debate on the House floor earlier this month, Mr. Wolf said funding multiple competitors "runs a high risk of failure by one or more companies" and is likely to leave the "taxpayer with no tangible benefits in exchange for substantial investment." But another GOP leader, Rep. Steven Palazzo, of Mississippi, who chairs a space subcommittee, on Tuesday said SpaceX's achievement isn't "an indication that we need to abandon course" and rush to eliminate "all competition." Mr. Hall previously expressed concerns that NASA's contractual arrangements don't mandate sufficient safety oversight by NASA during design and development of private spacecraft. A spokesman for Mr. Wolf didn't have any immediate comment. A spokesman for Mr. Hall said "concerns remain regarding how NASA will oversee and ensure safety of any future commercial crew launches."