Boeing, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada win

NASA will provide $1.1 billion in contracts to Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada to develop spacecraft to ferry crews to and from the International Space Station. Boeing gets $460 million, SpaceX gets $440 million and Sierra Nevada will receive $212 million. The announcement was made Friday at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The awards are part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program, a potentially multibillion-dollar job of ferrying astronauts. While NASA works with industry partners to develop commercial spaceflight capabilities to low Earth orbit, it's also is developing the Orion crew vehicle and the Space Launch System for deep space exploration. (Sources: NASA, Los Angeles Times, Boeing, SpaceX via PRNewswire, Sierra Nevada via PRNewswire, 08/03/12) Gulf Coast note: Stennis Space Center, Miss., tests rocket engines for NASA and commercial companies; Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans builds Orion and will build the core stage of the SLS.