Orbital would likely launch astronauts from the Cape

A NASA commitment to commercial crew taxis could one day lead Orbital Sciences Corp. to launch from Cape Canaveral, a senior executive said today.

"If we are successful in moving into commercial crew transportation, I haven't found another place that supports human spaceflight better than this one, so I'm pretty sure we'd be talking to you very seriously when that time comes," said Frank Culbertson, a former astronaut and senior vice president overseeing Orbital's human spaceflight programs.

He was the featured speaker at the National Space Club Florida Committee's monthly luncheon meeting in Cape Canaveral.

For now, the Dulles, Va.-based company is focused on developing the vehicles and infrastructure that will allow it to launch cargo to the International Space Station from Virginia.

NASA has a $1.9 billion contract with Orbital to fly eight station resupply missions by 2015, after the shuttle program has retired. SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., has another contract for 12 missions, and cargo will also be shipped by European, Japanese and Russian spacecraft.

Orbital hopes to launch a demonstration next summer of its new Taurus II rocket and Cygnus spacecraft, which are tentatively scheduled to make a first station cargo delivery next fall.

President Obama wants NASA to rely on commercial launch providers to send astronauts into low Earth orbit, a plan still under debate in Congress. A key Senate committee will discuss a new NASA authorization act Thursday at 10 a.m.

Image credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.