NASA orders three SpaceX flights to the ISS — Channel NewsAsia
In the United States, NASA has signed a $946 million contract with SpaceX to carry out three additional astronaut missions to the International Space Station. According to Channel NewsAsia, the new order extends the company’s crewed flights to the ISS through 2030.
17 missions under the contract
Following the expansion of the agreement, the total number of SpaceX flights carrying NASA astronauts under this contract will reach 17, while its total value will amount to $5.92 billion.
The contract provides for the preparation of astronauts and spacecraft on Earth, launch, conducting the mission in space, the return of crews, and the search for and recovery of the capsule after landing. The agreement also covers cargo delivery and the spacecraft’s stay at the station as a means of emergency crew evacuation.
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Crew Dragon flights
NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to develop spacecraft capable of delivering astronauts to the ISS. The goal was to ensure that the United States could regularly conduct crewed launches after the end of the space shuttle program, which ended years of dependence on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.
NASA certified SpaceX’s system for astronaut flights in November 2020. Since then, the company has become the main provider of crew rotation services at the station, using the Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. They can carry up to four astronauts as well as cargo.
NASA seeks to maintain the capability for crewed flights for both SpaceX and Boeing so that an accident or technical problem involving one contractor does not halt American astronauts’ access to the orbital station. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft experienced problems during its crewed test flight in 2024: NASA returned the capsule without a crew, while astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were brought back to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after spending more than nine months on the ISS instead of the planned 10 days.
