In a new $1.44 billion contract, NASA has ordered five more astronaut missions from SpaceX, bringing the total number of Crew Dragon launches to 14. It’s intended to keep a steady flow of crew members to the International Space Station (ISS) as SpaceX rival Boeing struggles to get its own Starliner crew system ready for launch.
The latest award “enables NASA to maintain an uninterrupted US capability for human access to the space station until 2030, with two unique commercial crew industry partners,” according to a press release from the space agency. The total Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract value with SpaceX now stands at $4.93 billion.
SpaceX received crew transportation certification in November 2020 and will launch its latest Crew-4 mission on April 27, 2022. NASA announced earlier this year that it would order three additional missions for $900 million, increasing its original $2.6 billion contract to $3.49 billion.
All of this works against Boeing, which has experienced numerous delays with its Starliner capsule, which is compatible with ULA’s Atlas V and other rockets. Following a lengthy delay due to valve issues, the most recent unmanned test flight took place on May 19th, with the capsule returning to Earth six days later.
The first crewed flight was supposed to take place in 2017, but it has yet to take place. Boeing and NASA are now aiming for the first astronaut mission in early 2023.
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