NASA Warned Outsourcing Could Compromise Safety

An aerospace panel is warning NASA that relying on private companies to send astronauts into space would raise serious safety issues.

The federal watchdog Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel said that outsourcing would be "unwise and probably not cost-effective" because private space companies are not yet technically advanced enough to safely put astronauts into orbit, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The White House has been exploring ways to rely on contractors to save money and speed up rocket development at the space agency.

Earlier this month, a panel headed by former Lockheed Martin Chairman Norman Augustine urged NASA to consider commercial options for ferrying astronauts to the international space station. The panel said aerospace companies could compete for contracts to run the manned space program.

But the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel report released last week found that none of the commercial ventures vying for NASA business are "currently qualified" to meet human safety standards, "despite some claims and beliefs to the contrary."

The findings will be a boost to NASA officials, who maintain its programs should remain government-run, the Journal reported.