NASA has issued a document called the "Commercial Crew Integrated Design Contract" that commercial space companies fear will give the space agency too much control over the design and operation of commercial spacecraft.
Popular Mechanics attempts to explain what changes and what remains the same in the way NASA proposes to interact with commercial space companies.
* The document applies to the crewed phase of the commercial spacecraft program. The cargo phase, about to go into operation next year, adapted a more free-wheeling, lassiez faire approach to spacecraft design and operation by commercial companies.
* The proposed contract places NASA in firm control of spacecraft design and development timelines.
* The document streamlines paperwork requirements and ensures ownership by commercial companies of intellectual property.
* NASA will create a board that will approve the adoption of commercial space hardware, with a view of making sure that a spacecraft in development meet's NASA's human rating requirements.
* There will be two phases for the NASA approval process for commercial spacecraft, the Integrated Design Phase and then the Development Test Evaluation and Certification. It is hoped that most issues between NASA and a commercial company will be ironed out in the first phase.
* The contracts to develop commercial space craft will be done on a fixed price basis, as opposed to "cost plus" which provides a margin over any costs incurred. However if NASA requires further testing and development above and beyond what is agreed to, then there will be a NASA fund will money available to pay for that.
* NASA will approve the test regime for commercial spacecraft.
* The space shuttle has 10,000 or so requirements that had to be satisfied before it could be certified as being able to fly. A commercial spacecraft would have to satisfy 600 or so requirements.
* NASA will require each company to accommodate 20 or so NASA employees as an oversight team which will be onsite on a full time basis. These will be called Partner Integration Teams.
* There is a "buy American" clause in the contract that requires a commercial vendor to buy a part or service from an American vendor, unless it is not available.
* NASA believes these changes are necessary to ensure astronaut safety. The commercial companies fear that the proposed contract will increase cost and schedule due to red tape and bureaucratic requirements.
* There are currently four companies involved in the NASA commercial crew program, Boeing, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Sierra Nevada.
* It is hoped that the first astronauts to arrive at the International Space Station on a commercial space ship that will fly by 2016.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times and The Weekly Standard.
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