Private companies are expected to provide comparable levels of service and technical sophistication at a much lower cost. In addition, Congress is putting pressure on NASA to take the shuttle and the fledgling station to market. The Commercial Space Act of 1998, which became law earlier this year, has among its provisions a requirement that NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin present lawmakers with a list of commercial opportunities the agency will open up during fiscal 1999 and 2000. Commercial Space Nears Lift-Off Finally, the aerospace industry itself seems ready for it. There's been a revolution since 1996, the first year that commercial space earnings were higher than government spending on space.
Launch costs remain prohibitive.
Flights are too few and the lead time between applying for a flight and launch is too long. Insurance is too expensive. And space-station construction will dominate shuttle payloads for several years. In addition, says NASA's Uhran, the agency lacks even a basic price list for shuttle and space-station activities, as well as a central clearinghouse for proposals from the private sector. Some hurdles are more fundamental.