Well, I'll open up the floor here by posting who I'd like to win. Please don't flame me for mentioning Liberty! Who I want to win:• SpaceX (Dragon Capsule).• Sierra Nevada (Dream Chaser spaceplane).• Paragon (advanced ECLSS hardware).• ATK/Astrium (Liberty rocket).
MEDIA ADVISORY : M11-073 NASA To Announce Awards For Commercial Crew Development WASHINGTON -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 18, to announce awards for the second round of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2) effort.
Never underestimate the power of ATK. That's all I'll say.
Was it ever clear to anyone what the appropriated amount was?
Quote from: OV-106 on 04/18/2011 03:03 pmWas it ever clear to anyone what the appropriated amount was?spacenews saying ~300 million. Thats all I've seen but haven't been following that amount too closely. http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110418-ccdev-awards-expected-today.html
But I don't think you are alone in having a favorable opinion of Liberty. I would be interested in your reasoning.
All of the above would likely make Liberty ready to fly crew before Atlas V.
B) A lot less work is required to man-rate Liberty than to man-rate Atlas V, since both Liberty's SRB and 2nd stage were designed with crew in mind.