Newt Gingrich Jabs NASA's Plans to Resume Manned Space Flight

While Floridas leaders cheered the news that NASA would rely on contracts with private companies like Boeing and SpaceX to resume manned space flight by 2017, the idea is drawing the fire of a prominent national figure: former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

The 2012 presidential hopeful published a piece at CNNs website on Wednesday

Tuesday's announcement was a modest step forward for the commercial space industry, since it will mark the first time NASA has bought tickets from American companies to send astronauts into space, Gingrich wrote. But NASA will need to embrace new entrants and promote a lot more competition to make sure this one small step for NASA isn't one giant leap backward on the taxpayer dime.

Gingrich questioned the decision for most of NASAs contract to end up in Boeings hands instead of SpaceX and other smaller companies.