NASA Aim to buy from SpaceX Five additional manned flights to International space station.
SpaceX is NASA’s only provider of certified commercial crew transportation.
In a statement, NASA said it may need additional flights “as early as 2026 to ensure different iterations, and to maintain safety.” outer space station operation.
NASA announced a “single source adjustment” as part of its existing Commercial Crew Transfer Capability (CCtCap) contract with SpaceX.
Although the agency did not disclose the expected value of the revised contract, it adds to the $3.5 billion contract awarded to SpaceX in February for three additional astronaut missions using Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon capsules: Crew-7, Crew-8 and Crew — 9. NASA said at the time that they might order more flights from SpaceX.
“Our goal has always been to have multiple providers of manned transportation to the space station. SpaceX has flown two of NASA’s manned missions reliably each year, and now we must refill those flights to help meet the agency’s long-term needs safely,” Phil McAllister, NASA Commercial Space Manager, said in a statement.
SpaceX will launch its sixth orbital mission for NASA in the spring of 2023.
McAllister added that NASA, however, needed “additional missions from SpaceX to implement our strategy of having every commercial provider perform a rotating mission once a year.”
In 2014, NASA awarded the CCtCap contract to Boeing and SpaceX through a public-private partnership as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew program.
NASA says Boeing’s recent 2nd orbital flight test, which went well, gives hope that the Starliner system can be certified for future missions.
“Boeing’s recent successful unmanned flight test helps reinforce NASA’s long-term goals,” said Steve Stitch, director of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
“It is imperative that we complete development of the Starliner without undue scheduling pressure while working to put Boeing and SpaceX into sustainable operations for years to come,” he said.
FacebookTwitterLinkedIn
–
