NASA Picks Finalists for Space Station Resupply Demonstration

[hansolo0]

http://www.space.com/news/080118-nasa-cots-finalists.html<br /><br /><br />So what does anyone know of the finalists and who are they rooting for?<br /><br />

 

[thereiwas]

Andrews has done some work on ballutes, a technology I am particularly fond of.

 

[solarspot]

Personally, I think Orbital likely has a decent shot at producing a functional system for a reasonable budget. I have heard some concerns about Spacehab's proposed design from an engineering perspective, but they could likely get the job done on time if they won the contract.<br /><br />I actually hope Andrews Space and PlanetSpace do not win for productivity's sake, as both companies want to develop launch vehicles specifically for their cargo spacecraft. SpaceX I can understand somewhat, as they were already working on Falcon 9 prior (and separate from) COTS well in advance, but single purpose launch vehicles will never win my approval.