NASA to Invest $30 Million On Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp. and SpaceX For Future Space Vehicles

NASA is continuing to invest in private spacecraft building companies officials announced on Monday. The space agency is awarding $30 million to Boeing, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada Corp., Space.com reported.

Each company will receive about $10 million to start the certifying process for their space vehicles to meet NASA requirement for transporting crews to and from the International Space Station. According to InvestorPlace, the space agency currently relies on Russia to transport its crews and materials to the ISS.

The $30 million will breakdown to $10 million for Sierra Nevada, which builds the Dream Chaser space plane; $9.99 million for Boeing, which builds the CST-100 capsule; and $9.59 million for SpaceX, which builds the unmanned Dragon capsule.

In a statement, Ed Mango, Commercial Crew Program manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida said, "I congratulate the three companies for their selection. This is the program's first major, fixed-price contract. The effort will bring space system designs within NASA's safety and performance expectations for future flights to the International Space Station."

Space.com reported that a second contract, known as the certification products contracts (CPC), would be awarded in the future. NASA hopes to have a working space vehicle to carry astronauts to low-Earth orbit by 2017. 

Phil McAlister, director of NASA's Commercial Spaceflight Development Division said, "These contracts represent important progress in restoring human spaceflight capabilities to the United States. NASA and its industry partners are committed to the goal of safely and cost-effectively launching astronauts from home within the next five years."

Phase 1 of CPC, which will run Jan. 22, 2013 through May 30, 2014, will have all three companies working with the Commercial Crew Program to develop certification plans, Space.com reported. Phase 2 of CPC, expected to start mid-2014, will involve a full and open competition among the companies as well as the final developments and verifications for the vehicles.