Barack Obama made several space-related promises during the presidential campaign. One of those was to "stimulate the commercial use of space and private sector utilization of the International Space Station. He will establish new processes and procurement goals to promote the use of government facilities."
This is actually a combination of three promises, two of which we have already rated. We'll take them one by one.
"Will stimulate the commercial use of space."
Earlier this year, NASA sought proposals on how to spend $50 million from the economic stimulus package in ways that would "stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate human spaceflight capabilities."
According to the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group that seeks to "make commercial human spaceflight a reality," the $50 million offering "represents a new milestone in the development of an orbital commercial human spaceflight sector," allowing "several companies to move a few steps forward towards the ultimate goal of full demonstration of commercial human spaceflight to orbit." Proposals are due Sept. 22, 2009, with the funds to be fully spent by Sept. 30, 2010, as required by the stimulus bill.
Two private spaceflight companies, Orbital and SpaceX, are under contract to deliver cargo by rockets to the International Space Station after the space shuttle is phased out in 2010 or 2011. The $50 million in the solicitation would go toward developing ways for the private companies to ferry crew members, not just cargo, to the space station. (Between the retirement of the space shuttle and the date that its replacement, Constellation, is operational, the United States will contract with Russia to carry astronauts to the space station.)
The $50 million in this solicitation is, by itself, hardly enough to make it possible for private companies to launch crew members into space. But the Obama campaign said it would act to stimulate efforts in that regard, so we rated this a Promise Kept.
Will stimulate "private sector utilization of the International Space Station"
The 2005 NASA Authorization Act designated the U.S. segment of the ISS as a national laboratory, and this legislation, according to NASA, directed the space agency to develop a plan to "increase the utilization of the ISS by other federal entities and the private sector." On the ISS Web site, NASA says that "as the nation's newest national laboratory, the ISS will further strengthen relationships among NASA, other federal entities, and private sector leaders in the pursuit of national priorities for the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The ISS National Laboratory will also open new paths for the exploration and economic development of space."
So the authority to move in this direction was already in place when the Obama administration took office. On Aug. 6, 2009, the new administration moved matters forward.
On that date, it formally invited "federal, state and local government entities, and ... U.S. private entities (including, but not limited to, commercial firms, nonprofit entities, and academic institutions)" to propose projects in "basic and applied research, technology development and industrial processing" that could be performed on the International Space Station.
"Proposed activities should involve [research and development], including, but not limited to, life sciences, sensors, communication equipment, engineering testbeds, spacecraft design and testing, or education and should demonstrate potential benefit to the public, such as development of future products and services contributing to U.S. industrial capacity and economic growth or improving [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] education," the request said. The window for proposals is open through Dec. 31, 2014, and the outside parties, not the federal government, will be responsible for financing their own activities.
The NASA solicitation amounts to a major step forward. The partnerships are not under way yet, but Obama only promised to "enlist other federal agencies, industry and academia to develop innovative scientific and technological research projects on the International Space Station." By issuing the the solicitation, the administration has enlisted support from those groups. We rated it a Promise Kept.
"Will establish new processes and procurement goals to promote the use of government facilities."
Space experts told PolitiFact that they are not aware of any tangible progress on this promise since the administration took office.
So, two-thirds of this promise rates as a Promise Kept, and the final third qualifies as No Action. Put it all together and you get an In the Works.