The three companies will develop, build and fly the landers and the contract for the initial 10-month period is $967 million.

Boeing expects to conduct its uncrewed test flight of Starliner on Dec. 17, which will be much like Got a confidential news tip? Kubendran highlighted manufacturing company Made in Space as an example of the success of this program, as the company received a tipping point award in 2015 and is now testing its 3D-printing technology in space. NASA is partnering with eight U.S. companies to advance small spacecraft and launch vehicle technologies that are on the verge of maturation and are likely to benefit both NASA and the commercial space market. The Apollo astronauts deployed them during their moon landings, but placing additional reflectors on the moon would enable precise measurements of its gravity.More ambitious science projects could include astronomical observatories on the far side of the moon, where The companies, a mix of established NASA contractors and space start-ups, are: In some ways, the NASA program is a revival of the Lunar X Prize. NASA astronauts last landed there in 1972, and Cumulatively, the contracts could be worth up to $2.6 billion over 10 years. NASA announced on Thursday that it had selected nine companies that will compete for billions of dollars in contracts to take small payloads for the agency to the surface of the moon.“We are building a domestic American capability to get back and forth to the surface of the moon,” said Jim Bridenstine, the NASA administrator. After NASA's announcement, agency CFO Jeff DeWit spoke to CNBC about how more companies involved in the space station will "lower the cost and lower the risk" of doing business in outer space. While delays have plagued the program, both companies are in the final stages of testing the capsules. These partnerships are the result of a solicitation released in August 2016 by NASA’s … Following this NASA will then evaluate which companies will be used to develop systems for the agencies projected 2024 moon mission. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe. NASA has big plans to go back to the moon, and it wants private companies to help them get there. The Dynetics lander is so low to the ground that only a few steps are needed, like a front porch, a feature that NASA gave high marks for safety and efficiency.SpaceX is using its own Starship spacecraft — still under development in Texas — and its own rockets. Other teams have designs that are still on the drawing board or are working on prototypes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.NASA is opening up the International Space Station for tourists with the first mission as early as 2020.Watch NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine’s full interview with CNBCConsumer DNA testing hits a rough patch: Here's how companies like Ancestry and 23andMe can surviveThe original movies of 2019 that won at Disney blockbuster-dominated box office
NASA Establishes New Public-Private Partnerships to Advance U.S. Commercial Space Capabilities. "DeWit pointed to the satellite segment of the industry as an example for how shifting ownership and operations from government-built-and-owned to commercial can drive innovation, such as communications or services like satellite television. NASA has big plans to go back to the moon, and it wants private companies to help them get there.On Thursday, NASA announced partnerships with nine companies that could fly small payloads to the lunar surface through contracts with the American space agency sometime in the relatively near future.

Bridenstine said NASA will go with the company that has the highest probability of success by 2024.NASA will rely on its own Orion capsules and Space Launch System mega rockets — still under development — to launch astronauts to the moon.The two other companies, Boeing and Vivace, put in bids but were eliminated early on, leaving the three awarded contracts. Both private companies built their own space systems under NASA's guidance after the end of the space shuttle program in 2011.

Broadly speaking, a company or project selected for a tipping point award receives NASA resources up to a fixed amount, with the private side paying for at least 25% of the program’s total costs…

This allows NASA to shepherd the development of important space technologies while trying to save the agency money. NASA is turning to private industry for the first lunar landers for astronauts in a half-century, with three competing, quite contrasting versions. Draper is teaming up with a company that grew out of a Japanese Lunar X Prize team — The nine companies already have not-quite-finished hardware. NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency.