NASA gives SpaceX a billion reasons to keep flying Crew Dragon

NASA has added almost $1 billion to SpaceX's commercial crew contract for three more Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

The $946 million contract modification covers Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17, along with ground operations, launch, in-orbit services, return and recovery, cargo transportation, and lifeboat capability while the spacecraft is docked to the ISS.

The addition brings the value of SpaceX's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract to $5.92 billion.

Whether there will be more remains unclear.

NASA explicitly said the award does not prevent it from buying additional transportation services if needed.

SpaceX has said it ultimately intends to retire Dragon and Falcon 9 in favor of Starship, assuming it can get the vastly larger vehicle operating reliably.

NASA plans to retire the ISS around 2030 and use a SpaceX-developed vehicle to perform its controlled deorbit.

NASA lists mission readiness dates in 2027 and 2028, with the contract's period of performance running through 2030.

NASA awarded CCtCap contracts to SpaceX and Boeing in 2014.

SpaceX has since flown numerous crews to the ISS.

Boeing, not so much.

The aviation giant's calamity capsule, Starliner, finally carried two astronauts to the outpost in 2024.

They remained there until a SpaceX Crew Dragon brought them home after NASA decided that returning them aboard the Boeing vehicle posed too much risk.

Starliner later returned safely to Earth without a crew.