NASA “Major Announcement Today” on Commercial Crew: Update

Update: NBC new is reporting via veteran space journalist Jay Barbree that Boeing and SpaceX will be named the two winners of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program later today, with a larger share going to Boeing.

Given that Boeing received a larger share than SpaceX, $460 million v. $440 million in the current round, and clearly has further to go than SpaceX in terms of its stage of development with the CST-100, that outcome would be expected.

Whether this is the announcement, or simply the announcement of the date of the announcement remains to be seen.

NASA Press Release:

NASA will make a major announcement today at 4 p.m. EDT regarding the return of human spaceflight launches to the United States. The agency will make the announcement during a news conference from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
A brief question-and-answer session with reporters on site will take place during the event. Media will be able to ask more detailed questions related to the program in a teleconference shortly afterward.

News conference participants at Kennedy are:

• NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
• Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana
• Commercial Crew Program Manager Kathy Lueders
• Astronaut and former ISS Expedition crew member Mike Fincke