1. What statement best describes your interest in space? Please mark (or highlite with red font) all that apply to you
a. Supplier of space launch services or hardware/software
b. Supplier of ground processing or support services or hardware
c. Supplier of space based assets or services
d. Buyer/user of space services (e.g., biotech, material science, earth science)
e. Financier (Angel, VC, investment banking, etc.)
f. Media/entertainment representative
g. Other
2. Do you know about the NASA COTS program? (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services)
a. No or not much (if no skip to #7)
b. Have heard about it
c. Some knowledge
d. Very familiar
3. Did you or your organization apply for a NASA COTS award?
a. Yes
b. No
4. Do you think NASA should offer other COTS type programs?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Don’t know
5. Do you have any ideas for future NASA COTS type programs? If yes please briefly describe.
NASA should consider turning ISS over to a quasi-governmental organization, such as was done with the Comsat Corporation for satellite communications. Comsat played a crucial role in the early days of telecommunications, and deserves much of the credit for the current success of the industry. A similar success could be had with ISS, which when it is completed will represent a $100 billion investment by U.S. taxpayers.
6. Do you think the NASA COTS program could be improved? If so how?
Yes. Once a COTS provider proves capability to routinely access ISS for crew and cargo, NASA should drop its own plans for access so they are not competing directly with the COTS providers.
7. What do you see as the biggest barrier/obstacle to commercial space?
NASA and the “not invented here” syndrome rampant among the field centers.
8. What do you think is the most important thing that NASA could do to support and promote commercial space?
Truly enable it by canceling in-house NASA space experiments and hardware projects that compete directly with private industry and the universities.
9 Any other comments or suggestions regarding commercial space?
NASA should reinstate the Research Partnership Centers, which have done more over the years to advance commercial space than any other group. Together, they flew over 174 commercial missions on Shuttle, MIR and ISS, had over 160 industrial partners and leveraged their NASA funding by factors of two and more.
10. Name and contact information for follow-up (optional):
Name: Frank Schowengerdt
Organization: SpacePartnerships.com