NASA has granted SpaceX a contract worth about $3.5 billion to provide three more Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station.
The deal covers missions Crew-7, Crew-8, and Crew-9, although NASA says more crew launches may be ordered in the future. Despite the fact that the contract had been in the works for some time, the announcement comes as tensions between NASA and Russia, its main partner in the International Space Station collaboration, have grown following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
NASA issued a request for new proposals in October to launch its astronauts on missions other than the 12 that were originally awarded to SpaceX and its competitor, Boeing. The new contract marks the first flights booked as a result of that call.
SpaceX began flying NASA astronauts to the ISS in 2020, ending a long period in which NASA had no direct access to the orbiting laboratory following the retirement of its space shuttle fleet in 2011. During this time, NASA astronauts flew aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft while the agency collaborated with commercial partners to develop new vehicles for the mission.
The new SpaceX missions will allow "NASA to maintain an uninterrupted U.S. capability for human access to the space station," the space agency said in a statement.
SpaceX's Crew-6 mission, the last of the already purchased missions, is scheduled to launch in early 2023. The Crew-3 mission, which includes NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, and Thomas Marshburn, as well as European astronaut Matthias Maurer, is currently aboard the space station. In mid-April, NASA's Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as Europe's Samantha Cristoforetti, will replace Crew-3. The launch date for the mission is set for Apr. 15.
NASA announced in a statement that the newly acquired missions will last through Mar. 31, 2028.
"The current sole source modification does not preclude NASA from seeking additional contract modifications in the future for additional transportation services as needed," the agency wrote.
NASA chose SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to fly astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability program. Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, however, has yet to fly successfully.
Due to software and communication issues, Starliner's first uncrewed test flight failed to reach the space station in December 2019. The second attempt has been repeatedly postponed. The flight is expected to take place later this year, but no specific launch date has been set.
