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PlanetSpace Gets NASA Deal: Ohio Officials Want Space-Tourism Company to Set Up Operations at Rickenbacker

Posted on: Saturday, 3 February 2007, 18:00 CST

By Marla Matzer Rose

A Chicago space-tourism company that might locate operations in Columbus has signed a deal with NASA to help the agency develop space shuttle-type aircraft.

PlanetSpace Inc. has been talking to Ohio and local officials about basing much of its operations at Rickenbacker Airport.

The state is courting Planet-Space with an offer of millions of dollars in incentives tied to PlanetSpace's plans to employ 500 people in Columbus within three years of setting up operations.

PlanetSpace is one of several companies moving forward with plans for space-tourism companies that would charge customers large sums of money for short trips into space.

Company and airport officials said the NASA agreement was a major boost for the project. PlanetSpace's plans include setting up manufacturing and research operations at Rickenbacker.

"I think it's a great indication of support for PlanetSpace," said David Whitaker, vice president of business development for the airport. "It's a reflection that they're doing the right things to be a future supplier to NASA."

NASA signed an identical deal this week with Transformational Space Corp. (t/Space) of Reston, Va. Both agreements are part of an effort by NASA to get out of "low-Earth orbit" operations in favor of focusing on longerrange missions.

In all, PlanetSpace is one of four companies that have signed Commercial Space Transportation Capabilities Agreements, which include no payment from NASA.

Last year, PlanetSpace and t/Space, along with 16 others, lost out to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of El Segundo, Ca., and Rocketplane Kistler of Oklahoma City in a competition to receive agreements that included $500 million in funding from NASA. The non-funded pacts, while obviously less attractive, indicate NASA's interest in potentially doing business with these firms within a few years.

The end goal of all these agreements is to have private companies take over much of the work done by NASA that involves its space-shuttle operations.

Chirinjeev Kathuria, chairman of PlanetSpace, said the agreement enhances the company's credibility and standing.

"This is the final milestone that the company needed to really launch their operations effectively, full-scale," Kathuria said. "NASA will be helping us with our vehicles and monitoring our progress. Then in 2009, we'll be doing a demonstration flight that goes into Earth orbit. If that's successful, they will become a customer of PlanetSpace."

Kathuria and other company executives were in Columbus in January for the latest in a series of discussions. The chairman has said he hopes to make a decision on whether he can go forward in Ohio by March.

Matt McCollister, vice president of economic development for the Columbus Chamber, also said the NASA agreement helps validate PlanetSpace as an attractive prospect for the city.

"It's one of many factors that are being taken into consideration," he said. "It's certainly a positive."

Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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