NASA COTS

However, other NASA officials not authorized to speak to reporters about the situation, said termination was imminent. NASA's Sept. 7 letter to RpK started the clock on the minimum 30-day notice the agency is required to give under the COTS agreement before pulling out. These officials said planning for a new competition for the remaining $175 million of RpK's COTS money was underway.

"The primary reason, highlighted by discussions with potential U.S. investors, was the uncertain revenue stream from ISS servicing," Brinkley wrote. "In their view, the current conditions, particularly the lack of a servicing commitment from NASA, makes any COTS participant not financeable. The lead investor emphasized their strong continuing interest and that they would reconsider their position if NASA could commit to a defined revenue stream post COTS demonstration. In the end, the conclusion of the Canadian investment fund was that, absent an ISS servicing commitment from NASA, they would not finance RpK and not any other potential COTS participant."

Some of those contenders are unsympathetic to RpK's situation, among them: David Gump, president of Reston, Va.-based Transformational Space Corp. The company's air-launched piloted capsule was a finalist for COTS funding last year and is one of several companies keeping NASA apprised of its progress through unfunded COTS agreements awarded earlier this year.

"RpK came in with a lot of promises and a half baked business plan and the market place is weeding them out," Gump said. "It's disingenuous to now say they were shocked – shocked – they would have to compete for ISS cargo business. That was plan[ned] in the original ISS cargo announcement. Everybody who bid knew it.