WASHINGTON —
NASA formally notified Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) Sept. 7 that it is 30 days
away from having its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS)
agreement terminated for failure to live up to the terms of the deal.
The Oklahoma
City-based firm was one of two companies NASA selected in August 2006 to
split $500 million in public funds to help build and demonstrate competing
launch systems capable of delivering cargo to the International Space Station.
The other company was El Segundo, Calif.-based Space
Exploration Technologies. NASA made the COTS money contingent on meeting
periodic technical and financial milestones.
RpK has struggled since the
beginning of the COTS program to raise the money it needs to complete
development of the K-1 reusable rocket and conduct a series of
confidence-building flight demonstrations. In May, RpK missed a deadline for
showing NASA that it had secured all $500 million in private financing the company
has said it needs for the project.
NASA at the
time said it was willing to give RpK more time to secure the private financing.
The company since has missed at least one self-imposed deadline for raising the
money.
NASA
spokeswoman Melissa Mathews said the U.S. space agency formally notified RpK Sept.
7 "that the company has failed to perform under its Space Act Agreement" and is
in jeopardy of having its COTS agreement terminated. The notice was given in
the form of a letter signed by Scott Horowitz, NASA associate administrator for
exploration systems.
Mathews
said the COTS agreement requires NASA to provide such notice at least 30 days
in advance of terminating the agreement for "failure to perform," such as
missing agreed-upon milestones.
"NASA has
not terminated its relationship with RpK and has not finalized a decision
whether to do so," she said.
RpK
President Randy Brinkley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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