House Chairman Eases Commercial Crew Restriction

NASA will get a little slack from Congress on how it may procure commercial crew transportation for astronauts headed to the International Space Station (ISS), but apparently no more money. Administrator Charles Bolden and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles NASA funding, have negotiated a deal that lets the U.S. space agency pick “2.5 program partners” — two proposals for a full share of federal seed money to develop commercial crew vehicles, plus another company that will receive a “partial award.” ...