NASA Awards 1b For a Man Rated Launch Vehicle

Friday, NASA penned an agreement with three companies which divvies up 1 Billion for design and development of a next generation man rated space vehicle.

The three companies involved are Boeing which will receive $460 million, SpaceX will receive $440 million (how bout them apples?! SpaceX playing on the same field as giant Boeing!) and Sierra Nevada Corporation receives $212.5 million. SNC is a systems integration firm.

Here is NASA's quote

• "Today, we are announcing another critical step toward launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on space systems built by American companies," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "We have selected three companies that will help keep us on track to end the outsourcing of human spaceflight and create high-paying jobs in Florida and elsewhere across the country." 

These three companies are working under the auspices of the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) formed by NASA as part of theSpace Act Agreements who's focus is U.S. human spaceflight capabilities, enabling a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil in the next five years.