The rocket business is about to boom again in Huntsville. By the end of the year, NASA is expected to award contracts worth potentially five billion dollars for the development of the next rockets to carry people into space. Huntsville is in a great position to benefit from this new program. It's been over 25 years since such procurement contracts were awarded. That was when the space shuttle program took off in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The aging shuttle program will have to be retired making way for the next generation of rockets.
These new rockets will be designed to eventually take people to the Moon and even Mars. Several new aerospace businesses are beginning to position themselves in the Huntsville area as they get ready to compete for business. Local small businesses will benefit tremendously. NASA procurement guidelines call for targets of up to 20 percent of contract revenues must go to small, women-owned or disadvantaged businesses. Overall, this will mean more growth for the Huntsville area. There are still some political hurdles to overcome, but if all goes well, the first new launch system is expected to be operational in 2014-2015. The sky's the limit! Good luck Huntsville!
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