NASA Administrator Charles Bolden spoke at the International Space Development Conference in Washington.
His remarks coincide with the scheduled docking of the first commercial space capsule at the International Space Station. It’s part of the Obama Administration’s long term plan for replacing the Space Shuttle Program, which ended in 2011. The goal is to have private companies handling flights to and from the space station, allowing NASA to focus on deep space missions.
Administrator Bolden is a retired United States Marine Corps major general and former NASA astronaut.
The conference is hosted by the National Space Society, an independent, educational, grassroots, non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of a space faring civilization, according to its website.