Boeing and SpaceX Emerge Victorious in NASA Space Taxi Contract

[Buster's Uncle]

Boeing and SpaceX Emerge Victorious in NASA Space Taxi Contract
247WallSt.com
By Chris Lange   September 16, 2014 5:35 pm EDT



The privatization, or partial privatization, of space has taken many twists since the end of the Space Shuttle era. Companies and organizations know that there are literally billions of dollars up for grabs in the contracts that can be won, and we now have a winner on the next space taxi that will take American astronauts to the International Space Station. The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and SpaceX team has won out.
 
NASA received numerous proposals from companies throughout the aerospace industry for this contract. Boeing and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) received the nod on Tuesday that they will be the companies to carry U.S. astronauts to space. As far as who gets what, Boeing received a $4.2 billion contract and SpaceX received a $2.6 billion contract.

The long-term goal is to reach Mars, but in the short term NASA is looking to reduce its reliance on Russia by 2017. The U.S. currently relies on Russia to ferry its astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA has gone on to say that by privatizing the low-Earth orbit transportation, it can focus on a more ambitious mission of sending humans to Mars.

The vehicles that were presented to NASA were Boeing’s CST-100 and SpaceX’s Dragon. The spacecraft are planned to launch on U.S. soil from Kennedy Space Center. Specialist teams from NASA have been watching the development of each of these new spacecraft during earlier development phases, and they are confident they will meet the demands and safety protocol for these important missions.

The designs must meet the same rigorous safety standards that were in place for the Space Shuttle Program, in order to achieve NASA certification in 2017.

Boeing shares closed Tuesday at $127.32, making a gain of nearly 1% on the day, and there was little positive change in the after-hours. Boeing has a consensus analyst price target of $152.73 and a 52-week trading range of $113.26 to $144.57.


Read more: Boeing and SpaceX Emerge Victorious in NASA Space Taxi Contract - The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/aerospace-defense/2014/09/16/boeing-and-spacex-emerge-victorious-in-nasa-space-taxi-contract/#ixzz3DbUsWjJx
Follow us: @247wallst on Twitter | 247wallst on Facebook

[Buster's Uncle]

Boeing and SpaceX Secure $6.2B NASA Space Taxi Contract
Zacks Equity Research 
10 minutes ago



National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA has selected The Boeing Co. (BA) and Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, to transport U.S. crews to and from the International Space Station or ISS. The contracts, worth $6.8 billion in total, strive to end the nation's sole reliance on Russia.

 Boeing is to receive a $4.2 billion contract from the government while SpaceX has been awarded a $2.6 billion contract. Although NASA did not divulge details relating to the contracts it however maintained that both companies would have to meet safety and operating standards. The space taxi is slated to transport its first astronaut to the orbiting laboratory by 2017. NASA’s selection of two contractors will prompt competition, cut overall technical risk and keep a lid on prices.

 Since the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in Jul 2011, the U.S. agency has relied upon Russian space agency for the transportation of its astronauts to the ISS at a cost of up to $71 million per seat on Russian Soyuz capsules. Hence, the restarting of U.S. manned space flights aims at keeping the cost of U.S. space launches down and also marks "the most ambitious and exciting chapter in the history of NASA and human space flight" as per NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

 Built by United Launch Alliance − a Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) partnership − Boeing's CST-100 spaceship would launch aboard Atlas 5 rockets. SpaceX has plans to upgrade its Dragon freighter to carry astronauts. Both the contractors will retain ownership of their vehicles and can use those commercially, including ferrying private tourists.

 Given the mounting tensions between the U.S. and Russia over the latter’s annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine, the latest move by the U.S. to reinitiate manned space flight has taken on a fresh urgency. It is worth mentioning that Boeing’s CST-100 designed to travel into space aboard Atlas V rockets is powered by Russian-made RD-180 engines.

 Boeing is however teaming up with Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin, founded by Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) Jeff Bezos, to build a new rocket engine. This will be a standby in case the RD-180 engine supply is disrupted.

 Since 2010, NASA has already invested about $1.5 billion in partner companies under its Commercial Crew program. Boeing and SpaceX were fortunate to snag most of NASA's development funds.

 Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security division is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. It is the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft.

 The U.S. has in recent times stepped up its space program and the defense contractors specializing in space systems see a lot of opportunity here in the wake of dwindling offers from other core defense areas. In July, Boeing secured a sizable contract from NASA to develop the core stage of the largest ever Space Launch System (:SLS) rocket. After completing the Critical Design Review (CDR) on the core stage, Boeing finalized a $2.8 billion contract with the space agency to enter into full production.

 Boeing carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors interested in the aerospace and defense industry may also consider Air Industries Group (AIRI), carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).


http://news.yahoo.com/boeing-spacex-secure-6-2b-200007596.html