Hyperdrive
NASA Picks Nine Companies for $2.6 Billion Moon Payload Program
- Agency says it won’t be the only customer for the contractors.
- Whether enough commercial demand exists is an open question.
Source: NASA/JPL/Northwestern University
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In its bid to return Americans to the moon via private enterprise, NASA is budgeting as much as $2.6 billion over the next decade for commercial firms to ferry payloads. On Thursday, it announced nine U.S. companies selected as initial bidders.
NASA says that its lunar plans are feasible because it will be a customer for multiple capabilities that commercial players will want to exploit: the ability to land various payload sizes on the moon and to perform micro-gravity research there. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine disclosed the Commercial Lunar Payload Services contracts as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to encourage greater commercial investment in space exploration.