All articles tagged with #commercial crew
NASA and Boeing plan an uncrewed Starliner test flight in December 2026 or January 2027 to validate propulsion fixes. If successful, a crewed mission could launch by mid-2028, commanded by astronaut Woody Hoburg. NASA is investing an additional $359 million to repair thruster issues and certify the Vulcan Centaur rocket, as SpaceX prepares to retire its Crew Dragon capsule.
SpaceX has informed NASA it will retire the Crew Dragon spacecraft after 2030, focusing instead on Starship for its own payloads. This leaves NASA reliant on Boeing’s Starliner for human access to low-Earth orbit, raising concerns about cost and market viability. While SpaceX’s move is economically rational for the company, it threatens the broader commercial space economy NASA has spent two decades trying to build.
NASA and Boeing have outlined a path to return the Starliner spacecraft to crewed service by mid-2028, following a 2024 mission that stranded two astronauts for nine months. The agency will fund an uncrewed test flight in late 2026 or early 2027 to validate thruster upgrades and certify the Vulcan rocket. This move ensures a second U.S. crew transport option as SpaceX prepares to retire its Crew Dragon capsule.
NASA has confirmed it will purchase two additional Starliner flights and provide $359 million to Boeing to fix technical issues and certify the Vulcan rocket. This move secures Boeing as the primary provider of US astronaut transportation to low Earth orbit after SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is expected to retire by 2030. The agency cited the high cost of developing new competitors and the existing investment in Starliner as reasons for continuing the partnership, despite Boeing’s history of delays and technical failures.
NASA has awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract modification for three additional crewed flights to the International Space Station, extending the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability agreement through 2030. This decision ensures continued access to the ISS while Boeing’s Starliner remains grounded for technical fixes and certification on a new launch vehicle. The award brings SpaceX’s total contract value to $5.92 billion and includes ground, launch, in-orbit, and recovery operations for Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17. While SpaceX is planning to eventually retire the Dragon spacecraft in favor of Starship, this contract secures its role as a primary crew transporter for the next few years. Meanwhile, NASA is simultaneously backing Boeing’s Starliner with two additional missions and funding for propulsion repairs to maintain a dual-provider strategy for human spaceflight.
NASA has awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract modification to conduct three additional crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS), extending the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) agreement through 2030. This brings the total number of operational flights under the contract to 17 and raises the total contract value to $5.92 billion. The new missions, designated Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17, will utilize the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule, with readiness dates scheduled for 2027 and 2028. The agreement covers ground, launch, in-orbit, and return operations, as well as cargo transport and lifeboat capabilities. This move ensures NASA maintains access to the ISS through two commercial partners, SpaceX and Boeing, while SpaceX prepares to transition its primary human transport role to the Starship rocket in the future.
NASA and SpaceX have finalized an expanded contract worth approximately $5.92 billion to continue crewed flights to the International Space Station. This agreement secures additional Dragon missions through 2030, ensuring continuous US access to low-Earth orbit as the agency transitions away from the Dragon program toward Starship and Boeing Starliner alternatives.
NASA has expanded its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract with SpaceX, awarding the company approximately $950 million to conduct three additional crewed Dragon flights to the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030. This extension brings the total number of operational flights under the contract to 17. If SpaceX completes all missions, it will have earned a total of $5.92 billion from NASA under this agreement. The contract covers ground, launch, in-orbit, and return operations, as well as cargo transportation and lifeboat capabilities. This move ensures NASA maintains access to the ISS via two commercial partners, alongside Boeing, which is preparing for crewed Starliner missions starting in 2027. The award comes as SpaceX transitions its focus toward the Starship rocket, with the Dragon program expected to wind down after its current operational phase.
On Boeing’s earnings call, CEO Kelly Ortberg said Starliner’s propulsion deficiencies are being redesigned and are progressing well. The next mission is a cargo flight to the ISS, with the launch date dependent on NASA port availability; if this goes smoothly, a crewed Starliner mission could follow in late 2027, though Boeing has already booked roughly $2 billion in charges for delays and fixes. Starliner competes with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which is currently cheaper and more reliable, and future costs for human spaceflight in the 2030s are likely to rise.
NASA plans to add six post-certification missions to SpaceX’s Commercial Crew Contract on a sole-source basis, ordering up to three of the missions when added, to ensure continued crew transport to the ISS as Boeing’s Starliner remains uncertified and schedule delays persist. The extension follows a 2022 modification that added five missions for $1.4 billion and would extend ISS operations through late 2030 with a cadence of about one mission every six months.
NASA published its live-coverage plan for SpaceX Crew-12 to the International Space Station, covering a Feb. 11 liftoff (no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST) and a Feb. 12 docking, with prelaunch briefings, postlaunch discussions, and ongoing streams on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube, plus virtual attendance options and Spanish-language coverage.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is set to undergo its first crewed test flight in May, seven years behind schedule. The test will involve NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flying the Starliner to the International Space Station and back. This comes at a challenging time for Boeing, as the company has faced significant safety issues and a shakeup in leadership, with the CEO announcing his departure at the end of the year.
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station, bringing a four-man crew including the first Turkish citizen in space for a two-week commercial research mission. The crew's arrival boosts the ISS crew to 11 for the next two weeks, representing a record eight nations. During their stay, they will conduct over 30 microgravity experiments and research projects before returning to Earth in early February. This mission kicks off a busy period for the ISS, with upcoming crew rotations and launches planned.