Posted: Wed, Dec 24, 2008, 12:09 PM ET (1709 GMT)
Orbital Sciences Corporation and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) won contracts from NASA on Tuesday to provide cargo resupply services to the International Space Station with cargo after the shuttle is retired. Orbital won a contract valued at $1.9 billion for eight launches to the station through the end of 2016, while SpaceX won a $1.6-billon contract for 12 launches during the same time period. The contracts call for the delivery of at least 20 metric tons of cargo to the station as well as associated services. The two companies already have funded Space Act agreements with NASA through the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, where NASA provides some financial support to help the two companies develop their launch vehicles and spacecraft used to carry cargo to and from the station. The two companies beat out a third competitor, a consortium of companies led by startup PlanetSpace that features Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and ATK.

Related Links:

•  Wall Street Journal article (subscription required)
•  SPACE.com article
•  CBS News/Spaceflight Now article
•  Orlando Sentinel article
•  NASA press release