WASHINGTON–Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01) today released the following statement in response to NASA’s decision to exclude ATK from the companies awarded the contract for the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative:
“I am disappointed and disheartened by the news that NASA has excluded ATK from the companies that were awarded the contract for the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative. ATK is a proven leader and their track record is beyond exemplary. It was my understanding that ATK’s Liberty proposal ranked very high in technical merit, and was the lowest-risk option. I support NASA’s efforts to engage private industry as part of our efforts to develop the next generation of innovate cutting edge space travel and missile defense capabilities. America was once recognized globally as the preeminent leader in exploration of the cosmos and it is my hope that one day we can regain that title. Recently, NASA Administration Charlie Bolden said that, ‘I have no desire to do a Mars landing on our own,’ and that ‘The U.S. cannot always be the leader, but we can be the inspiration leader through international cooperation in space exploration.’ Based on these comments I remain concerned that space leadership remains a low priority for this Administration. This is just another example of how this administration has been a total disappointment.
“I will be joining with Senator Hatch, Senator Lee as well as the rest of the delegation to further investigate every detail of how NASA arrived at today’s disappointing decision.”
