NASA commercializing trips to the ISS?

According to reports this week, NASA appears to be looking for a little help in its Earth-orbit activities to offset long-range exploration costs. The space agency recently signed three new agreements with private companies to share information regarding its technology, with sights set on outsourcing certain crew and cargo related services for the lately troubled International Space Station -- thus freeing up resources for its more ambitious missions to the moon, Mars and the Planet of the Apes.