The deal secures a long future for SpaceX and NASA to work together to launch astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The newly contracted launch extends the partnership through 2030, bringing the total contract value of 14 fully operational astronaut missions to nearly $5 billion.
Continuing to operate the ISS until 2030 has recently been called into question. That’s because Russia, a major US partner on the ISS, has threatened to cut space station cooperation amid growing geopolitical tensions over its invasion of Ukraine. But NASA has repeatedly said it is confident the space station will continue to operate as before. NASA cannot currently take over the space station on its own, as the portion of the space station controlled by Russia will provide the propulsion necessary to keep the ISS in orbit.
NASA has revealed it still has confidence in Boeing. “[h]However, it will require additional missions from SpaceX to execute the strategy of each commercial provider alternating missions once a year,” said Phil McAllister, NASA’s director of commercial spaces. We made a statement in June about our decision to extend our contract with SpaceX.
“Our goal has always been to have multiple providers for manned transportation to the space station,” McAllister said. “SpaceX has reliably flown NASA’s manned missions twice a year, and now needs to backfill those flights to safely meet NASA’s long-term needs.”
Source: www.cnn.com
