NASA plans to significantly expand its partnership with SpaceX for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). This decision comes amid ongoing issues and delays with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner program. Under the new agreement, 6 additional flights for the Crew Dragon spacecraft are expected to be ordered. This is reported by Ixbt.com .
Currently, SpaceX remains the only reliable partner for NASA. Previously, in 2022, the contract was extended through the Crew-14 mission. The new additional missions will allow SpaceX to transport astronauts to space until 2030, when the ISS concludes its operations. NASA aims to have a backup plan due to uncertainties in the Boeing project.
Technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft have persisted for several years. The craft has not yet been fully certified, and its first operational flight has been removed from NASA's updated schedule. Consequently, the agency was forced to reduce the number of Starliner missions from 6 to 4, refocusing on SpaceX technologies.
Additionally, NASA has abandoned the idea of extending the astronauts' stay on the station from 6 to 8 months. The standard six-month rotation schedule will be maintained. The 6 additional missions carried out by SpaceX are calculated to be sufficient to ensure stable operation of the station in its final years.
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