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The article discusses the extent to which commercial access should be of concern of U.S. policymakers. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, decisionmaker should be about commercial access to space for two reasons including the capabilities of space assets critical to U.S. national security and commercial space assets accounting for many of these capabilities. The article outlines why commercial space assets are critical to U.S. security.

The article assesses the option sets intended to advance commercial access to space. A group was convened by the Center for Strategic and International Studies to evaluate actions or group actions within each option set to determine if they support the reliability, security, and affordability evaluation criteria. The evaluation aims to help policymakers understand the option and the extent to which each option facilitates.

The article summarizes four option sets intended to advance commercial access to space. These sets are derived from discussions with experts as well as future policies, directives, and actions under consideration by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The option sets include leveraging foreign launch providers, increasing domestic U.S. competition, expanding the U.S. government role in space launch, and enhancing launch demand.

The article presents the factors or prerequisites to be considered for space mission assurance. These factors are important in the evaluation of launching commercial space travels. They serve as criteria which address the extent to which options for commercial space launch would facilitate. They include reliability, security, affordability, feasibility and timeliness.