Aviation Week & Space Technology, 03/13/2006, page 23

Edited by David Bond

NASA says it's pleased with the number of bids it received Mar. 3 for its $500-million Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration program from "the full spectrum of industry." But the space agency doesn't plan to announce any winners until this summer, and some industry insiders won't be surprised to find only familiar--and big--corporate names on that list. The COTS program was designed to spur private investment by space entrepreneurs willing to take some risks hauling cargo and eventually crew to the International Space Station. But even with $500 million potentially available for demonstrations over the next five years, and the possibility of contracts worth much more than that, many investors consider the gamble too risky. NASA can't guarantee that there will be money for the program even in Fiscal 2007, when it is seeking authorization to spend $91 million. And long-term figures show NASA support for ISS dropping to zero in less than 10 years. Given the kind of money it would take to build the needed spacecraft, big players like Boeing and Lockheed Martin are seen as more likely to have pockets deep enough to go after the seed money than the small entrepreneurs it was designed to attract.