Hutchison: COTS Would Help Close Shuttle-CEV Gap

摘要

Saying that flying the space shuttle beyond 2010 is "the least desirable option" for closing a looming gap of three or four years between retiring the shuttle and fielding its replacement, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said she would prefer to see the private sector "come forward and be a major player in the space program." Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here May 23, Hutchison said Congress should support NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, a $500 million effort to foster one or more commercial services capable of delivering cargo and possibly crew members to the international space station.