NASA Unveils its Commercial Plan

The various milestones in the nation's commercial space initiatives from the agency's Kennedy space Center in Floida was announced by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. The latest progress made by NASA's commercial space partners have given way for the first contracted flight of cargo to the ISS.  

The announcement stated that Space Exploration Technologies has completed its Space Act Agreement with NASA for Commercial Orbital Transportation Service (COTS). It is from Cape Canaveral that SpaceX will launch its first 12 contracted cargo flights to the space station in October.

"We're working to open a new frontier for commercial opportunities in space and create job opportunities right here in Florida and across the United States," Bolden said. "And we're working to in-source the work that is currently being done elsewhere and bring it right back here to the U.S. where it belongs."

During the COS program NASA will provide investments that will help the American commercial space industry progress. Under the agreement, SpaceX becomes the first commercial company to resupply the space station in May. Successfully launching its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting complex.

According to the report by NASA, "NASA partner Sierra Nevada Corp. has conducted its first milestone under the agency's recently announced Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative. The milestone, a program implementation plan review, marks an important first step in Sierra Nevada's efforts to develop a crew transportation system with its Dream Chaser spacecraft."

Along with developing commercial spaceflight with the U.S, industry, the agency is simultaneously developing the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS).