Tech

SpaceX secures five more NASA astronaut missions as part of $1.4 billion contract


Like expectedNASA has command five more astronaut missions from SpaceX in a new $1.44 billion contract, bringing the total number of Crew Dragon launches to 14. It’s designed to ensure a steady flow of crew members crew to the International Space Station (ISS), like SpaceX’s rival Boeing Fight ready to launch its own Starliner crew system.

The space agency said in a press release, the latest award “enables NASA to maintain uninterrupted human access to the space station through 2030, with the only two commercial partners in the pipeline.” crew industry”. It brings the aggregate Commercial Crew Transport Capacity (CCtCap) contract with SpaceX to $4.93 billion.

SpaceX was certified for crewed transport in November 2020, launching its latest Crew-4 mission on April 27, 2022. Earlier this year, NASA announced that it will order three additional missions for $900 million, bringing the original $2.6 billion contract to $3.49 billion.

All of this is to the detriment of Boeing, which has suffered numerous delays with ULA’s Atlas V-compatible Starliner capsule and other rockets. After a long delay due to valve problems, the latest unmanned test flight kicked off on May 19 this year, with capsules return to Earth six days later. The first crewed flight was originally scheduled for 2017, but has yet to launch. Boeing and NASA are currently targeting early 2023 for the first mission carrying astronauts.

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