NASA has awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract for three additional crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS), extending their collaboration through 2030. This agreement increases the total number of NASA astronaut flights with SpaceX to 17 and raises the contract’s total value to $5.92 billion.
The contract encompasses various responsibilities, including preparing astronauts and spacecraft, launching, mission operations, crew recovery, and maintaining the spacecraft as an emergency escape vehicle.
SpaceX and Boeing were selected in 2014 to develop crew-capable spacecraft to ensure reliable domestic launch capabilities after the retirement of the Space Shuttle and reduce reliance on Russia’s Soyuz. Boeing’s Starliner faced issues during a 2024 test flight, resulting in NASA having to send astronauts home using a SpaceX Dragon capsule instead.
NASA approved SpaceX’s system for crewed flights in November 2020, and since then, it has become the primary provider for crew rotations at the ISS, using the Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. NASA aims for both SpaceX and Boeing to provide crew transportation to mitigate risks and ensure continuous access to the ISS.
