Revised: Aug. 2009

"Now, when an American has an idea, he directly seeks a second American to share it. If there be three, they elect a president and two secretaries. Given four, they name a keeper of records, and the office is ready for work; five, they convene a general meeting, and the club is fully constituted.", Jules Verne, From the Earth to the Moon; and, Round the Moon, chap. I.

The theme of a few hardy inventors cobbling together a spaceship without anyone from the government looking on is obviously as old as science fiction itself. Today, elements of some of science fiction's classic works, such as worldwide communication via satellite, are part of our day-to-day lives. Much of that has been due to the hard work of private enterprises. An early example, Telstar I, was a joint venture between AT and T and NASA. AT and T designed and built Telstar I, and NASA launched it. Today, there are several private launch services and satellite builders, a broker between Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, and people who want to visit the International Space Station, and companies building their own spaceships for tourists, such as Virgin Galactic. This webpage is an overview of resources on the promising field of non-governmental enterprise in outer space. Other items of interest can be found in our webpages on Outsourcing and Insourcing, International Cooperation in Space, and Legislative Research and Space Law. Also, because some plans for exploring the other worlds have a large commercial component, there may be interesting items in our webpages on Space Colonization, Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, and Near-Earth Objects, and Missions to the Moon.

All items are available at the Headquarters Library, except as noted. NASA Headquarters employees and contractors: call x0172 or email Library@hq.nasa.gov for information on borrowing or in-library use of any of these items. Members of the public, contact your local library for the availability of these items. NASA Headquarters employees can request additional materials or research on this topic. The Library welcomes your comments or suggestions about this webpage.

NASA Policies

The following policies and procedural requirements can be accessed by anyone through the NASA Online Directives Information System:

 

NASA Policy Directive 1050.1I: Authority to Enter into Space Act Agreements

 

NASA Policy Directive 5101.32D: Procurement

 

NASA Policy Directive 7410.3J: Performance of Commercial Activities

 

NASA Policy Directive 8610.7D: Launch Services Risk Mitigation Policy for NASA-Owned and/or NASA-Sponsored Payloads/Missions

 

NASA Policy Directive 8610.12F: Office of Space Operations (OSO) Space Transportation Services for NASA and NASA-Sponsored Payloads

 

NASA Policy Directive 8610.23C: Launch Vehicle Technical Oversight Policy

 

NASA Procedural Requirements 8705.2B: Human-Rating Requirements for Space Systems

Books

Berinstein, Paula (ed.). Making Space Happen: Private Space Ventures and the Visionaries Behind Them. Medford, NJ: Plexus Publishing, 2002.

HD9711.75 .A2 M35 2002 BOOKSTACKS

 

Dobbs, Lou. Space: The Next Business Frontier. New York, NY: Pocket Books: ibooks: Space.com, 2001.

HD9711.75 .A2 D64 2001 BOOKSTACKS

 

Handberg, Roger. International Space Commerce: Building From Scratch. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2006.

HD9711.75 .A2 H36 2006 BOOKSTACKS

 

Harris, Philip Robert. Space Enterprise: Living and Working Offworld in the 21^st Century. New York, NY: Praxis Publishing, 2009.

TL795.7 .H38 2009 BOOKSTACKS

 

Hudgins, Edward Lee (ed.). Space: The Free-market Frontier. Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2002.

HD9711.75 .U62 S69 2002 BOOKSTACKS

 

Solomon, Lewis D. The Privatization of Space Exploration: Business, Technology, Law, and Policy. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2008.

HD9711.75 .A2S59 2008 BOOKSTACKS

 

Space Shuttle Competitive Sourcing Task Force. Alternate Trajectories: Options for Competitive Sourcing of the Space Shuttle Program: Report of the Space Shuttle Competitive Sourcing Task Force. Arlington, VA: RAND, 2002.

TL795.5 .A47 2002 BOOKSTACKS

 

United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science. Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. Future Markets for Commercial Space: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Committee on Science, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, April 20, 2005. Washington, DC: US GPO, 2005.

KF27 .S32 F88 2005 BOOKSTACKS

 

United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The Economic Impact of Commercial Space Transportation on the U.S. Economy: 2004. Washington, DC: Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, 2006.

HD9711.75 .U6 U54 2006 BOOKSTACKS

 

United States. Government Accountability Office. Commercial Space Launches: FAA Needs Continued Planning and Monitoring to Oversee the Safety of the Emerging Space Tourism Industry . Washington, DC: U.S. Govt. Accountability Office, 2006.

HD9711.75 .T68 F33 2006 BOOKSTACKS

 

__________. NASA: Commercial Partners Are Making Progress, But Face Aggressive Schedules to Demonstrate Critical Space Station Cargo Transport Capabilities. Washington, DC: U.S. Govt. Accountability Office, 2009.

HE9788 .A57 C666 2009 BOOKSTACKS

 

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Commercial Market Outreach Plan for the International Space Station. Washington, DC: NASA Headquarters, 2002.

TL797 .C656 2002 BOOKSTACKS

E-books

The e-book listed here is available to NASA civil servants and contractors through the Books 24x7 service of SATERN.

 

Olla, Phillip (ed.). Commerce in Space: Infrastructures, Technologies, and Applications. IGI Global, 2008.

 

Articles and Reports

Ashford, David. "New business opportunities in space", Space Policy, vol. XXIII, no. 4 (Nov. 2007), p. 241-242.

 

Doerer, Richard C. National Security Implications of the Commercialization of Space, US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA, April 10, 2000.

(ADA378018: (June 2000) DTIC)

 

Harris, Philip R. "Overcoming obstacles to private enterprise in space", Space Policy, vol. XXIV, no. 3 (Aug. 2008), p. 124-127.

 

Hertzfeld, Henry R. "Globalization, commercial space and spacepower in the USA", Space Policy, vol. XXIII, no. 4 (Nov. 2007), p. 210-220.

 

_________, and Nicolas Peter. "Developing new launch vehicle technology: The case for multi-national private sector cooperation", Space Policy, vol. XXIII, no. 2 (May 2007), p. 81-89.

 

Jurist, John M. "Commercial Suborbital Sounding Rocket Market: A Role for Reusable Launch Vehicles", Astropolitics, vol. VII, no. 1 (Jan. 2009), p. 32-49.

 

Launius, Roger D., and Dennis R. Jenkins. "Is It Finally Time for Space Tourism?", Astropolitics, vol. IV, no. 3 (Dec. 2006), p. 253-280.

 

Lindenmoyer, Allan. "Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Demonstrations", in: Multilateral Medical Operations Panel, Cologne, Germany, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 2006.

(20060050052: (July 2007) NTRS)

 

Miller, Dennis M., and John E. Stocker III. Commercialization of Space Systems: Policy Implications for the United States, Naval War College, Newport, RI, Jan. 2001.

(ADA393920: (Sept. 2001) DTIC)

 

Petras, Christopher M. The Convergence of U.S. Military and Commercial Space Activities: Self-Defense and Cyber-Attack, 'Peace Use' and the Space Station, and the Need for Legal Reform, Institute of Space Law, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, Aug. 2001.

(ADA401756: (June 2002) DTIC)

 

Powers, Blake, Mark Nall, and Joseph C. Casas. "Benefits Awareness: Educating Industry, Finance, and the Public About Space Commercialization", in: 23^rd International Symposium on Space Technology and Science, Matsue, Japan, May 26-June 2, 2002.

(20020066165: (May 2009) NTRS)

 

Smitherman, David V., Jr. "Government and Industry Issues for Expanding Commercial Markets into Space", in: 53^rd International Astronautical Congress, Houston, TX, Oct. 10-19, 2002.

(20030062114: (Nov. 2004) NTRS)

 

Zelnio, Ryan J. "Whose jurisdiction over the US commercial satellite industry? Factors affecting international security and competition", Space Policy, vol. XXIII, no. 4 (Nov. 2007), p. 221-233.

Internet Resources

Chu-Thielbar, Lisa. Commercial Suborbital Research Program. July 22, 2009 [Sept. 3, 2009].

http://suborbitalex.arc.nasa.gov/

This is a program at NASA's Ames Research Center which aids research in and on commercially produced reusable sounding rockets.

 

Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Aug. 20, 2009 [Aug. 24, 2009].

http://www.commercialspaceflight.org/

This is the trade association for commercial spaceflight providers.

 

Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Commercial Space Transportation. July 2009 [Aug. 24, 2009].

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/

This is the federal office responsible for commercial spaceflight safety.

 

Taylor, Starr. Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office. Aug. 10, 2009 [Aug. 24, 2009].

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/c3po/home/index.html

This office at Johnson Space Center is working with several commercial spaceflight services providers to develop both pilotless and, eventually, piloted space capsules to resupply the International Space Station.