NASA selected four US-based commercial aerospace companies in order to create new capabilities for government customers and others. Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities is an initiative that aims to promote private sector integration of space capability by giving access to NASA spaceflight resources. The goal is to ensure that new products and services are commercially accessible to both government and nongovernmental customers within the next five-years. ATK Space Systems in Beltsville, Maryland was one of the companies that were selected to collaborate on commercial space capabilities. Space logistics, host payload development and other space transport capabilities. Final Frontier Design is based in Brooklyn, New York. It focuses on space suits for intra-vehicular activities. Space Exploration Technologies is based in Hawthorne (California) and works to develop space transport capabilities for missions into deep space. United Launch Alliance is based in Centennial (Colorado) and develops launch vehicles that are more cost-effective and perform better. Phil McAlister is the director for commercial spaceflight development, NASA Headquarters, Washington. He said that companies of all sizes invest their capital in innovative commercial space capabilities. NASA stated that the Space Act Agreements are not based on an exchange of funds and each participant bears the costs of their participation. We look forward working with them to improve space capabilities. NASA could contribute technical expertise, data, assessment, and lessons learned. This shared expertise can be done in a well-organized manner, requiring minimal government resources. It also fosters the development of technology to allow NASA to reach its strategic goals of expanding human exploration of the sun and for advancing science and innovation.
