Helping U.S. businesses use the unique medium of space to benefit our economy
On March 1, 2021, the Secretary of State determined pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 that the Government of Russia used chemical weapons in violation of international …
New Russian Sanctions Include Commercial Space Launch Activities Read more »
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao today announced the publication of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Streamlined Launch and Reentry Licensing Requirements Final Rule for commercial space transportation launches and reentries. “This historic, comprehensive …
The Commerce Department will host a public meeting on space export controls on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C. The meeting is being organized in cooperation with the Department of Transportation …
DOC to Host Space Export Control Industry Day on April 17 (UPDATED) Read more »
Two days after a commercial cargo hauler exploded on its way to the International Space Station, another unrelated commercial spacecraft suffered a catastrophic failure, claiming the life of one test pilot and injuring another. Virgin Galactic’s first SpaceShipTwo vehicle, …
A major launch anomaly marred yesterday’s attempt to deliver the next batch of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. It was to be the third CRS delivery …
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $1.2 million to the University of Texas at Brownsville. The EDA investment will help build a high-tech business …
Today, NASA announced its selection of Boeing and SpaceX to transport U.S. crews to and from the International Space Station using their CST-100 and Crew Dragon spacecraft, respectively. Under contracts worth a combined total of …
Commercial Crew Transportation Contracts Announced Read more »
On January 12, 2014, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) successfully captured the first Cygnus capsule launched as an operational, fixed-price cargo delivery service. Orbital, which developed the Cygnus spacecraft and its Antares …
On November 21, President Obama signed an updated National Space Transportation Policy providing guidance to federal departments and agencies on the development and use of commercial and governmental space transportation systems. The goal of the …
President Issues New Space Transportation Policy Read more »
On September 29, 2013, the first Cygnus spacecraft berthed with the International Space Station (ISS), becoming the second new cargo delivery system to be demonstrated under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. It hauled …
New Commercial Capsule Reaches International Space Station Read more »
On April 21, 2013, U.S. space company Orbital conducted the first test flight of its Antares rocket with a simulated cargo capsule on top. Orbital is the second of two U.S. firms to successfully demonstrate …
Today, another SpaceX Dragon capsule delivered more cargo to the International Space Station. It was the first such delivery under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, bringing the Dragon out of demonstration mode and into …
Space Station Delivery Service Enters Operational Phase Read more »
Today, the Dragon space capsule developed and launched by SpaceX — a U.S. commercial space firm — successfully delivered approximately 1,000 pounds of cargo from NASA to the International Space Station. It was a historic …
First Commercial Resupply Mission Reaches International Space Station Read more »
On December 8, the U.S. firm Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) became the first company in history to achieve the successful launch and re-entry of a private space capsule. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon …
Michael Beavin of the Office of Space Commercialization will speak at the Space Frontier Foundation’s NewSpace 2010 conference in San Francisco, CA, July 22-24, 2010. He will participate in a roundtable discussion with government and …
At an awards ceremony on November 5, 2009, the X Prize Foundation and NASA culminated the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X Prize Challenge by presenting the Level 2 awards to Masten Space Systems ($1 million …
On June 18, Michael Beavin of the Office of Space Commercialization moderated a panel at AIAA’s event on Innovations in Orbit: An Exploration of Commercial Crew and Cargo Transportation. The event featured key leaders from …
Video of Commercial Crew & Cargo Transport Event Read more »
Today, NASA announced contract awards to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences Corporation for International Space Station (ISS) Cargo Resupply Services (CRS), establishing the two companies as commercial cargo haulers to the ISS. Under …
In December 2002, the Office of Space Commercialization released a report (dated October 2002) providing an analysis of the technical viability of several suborbital launch system concepts. The report also examines the commercial market potential …
Report on Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles and Applicable Markets Read more »