SpaceX expands NASA crew flight contract to $5.92 billion through 2030

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SpaceX NASA crew contract extended

Highlights

NASA awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract for three more astronaut flights to the ISS, raising the total contract value to $5.92 billion through 2030.
The expanded agreement covers 17 total missions, providing full astronaut transport services including supplies delivery and emergency escape capability aboard Crew Dragon capsules.
NASA relies on SpaceX as its main crew rotation provider after technical issues with Boeing's Starliner in 2024 extended the station stay of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to over nine months.

Contract expansion and mission scope

As reported by Reuters, citing NASA, the agency is awarding SpaceX a $946 million contract to fly three additional astronaut missions to the International Space Station, lifting the total number of flights under the arrangement to 17.

The expanded deal raises the contract's total value to $5.92 billion. It covers astronaut and spacecraft preparation on the ground, launch operations, in-orbit mission management, crew return and capsule recovery.

The contract also includes carrying supplies and keeping the spacecraft at the station as an emergency escape vehicle.

Importance for U.S. crew access

NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to develop spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts to the station after the retirement of the space shuttle left the United States dependent for years on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

Since NASA approved SpaceX's system for astronaut flights in November 2020, the company has become the agency's main provider for rotating station crews, using the Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket to carry as many as four astronauts along with supplies.

NASA still wants both SpaceX and Boeing operating crew missions so that an accident or technical issue affecting one provider does not interrupt U.S. astronaut access to the station. That goal remains significant after Boeing's Starliner encountered problems on its 2024 crewed test flight, leading NASA to return the capsule empty and bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home on a SpaceX Dragon after their planned 10-day mission turned into a stay of more than nine months.

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