NASA to fund 'space taxis'

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- NASA says it will fund the development of at least two space taxi proposals that could send astronauts into orbit aboard U.S. vehicles by late 2016.

Draft terms of a contract with the goal of completed designs for such systems by 2014 were released by the space agency this week, Florida Today reported.

The request for proposals proves NASA's commitment "to outsource our space station transportation so NASA can focus its energy and resources on deep space exploration," Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement.

California's SpaceX, one of four companies sharing $270 million in NASA funding to advance designs of spacecraft to fly people to and from the International Space Station, said it was reviewing the draft language.

Blue Origin, The Boeing Co. and Sierra Nevada Corp. Space Systems are the other companies involved.

Some commercial space advocates say they fear limited funding under the Obama administration's 2012 budget and new NASA contracting procedures could complicate or derail the design and development program.

"From a technical standpoint (the companies) are proceeding well, but there's a concern about both the future funding and how the contracting is going to be structured in this next phase," Jeff Foust, an industry analyst with Futron Corp., said.

Under the proposed contract companies would be awarded fixed payments for meeting technical milestones and completing a series of three system and safety reviews.