NASA orders 5 extra space flights from SpaceX – Muricas News

SpaceX will launch 5 extra astronaut missions to the Worldwide Area Station for NASA on the finish of the last decade, in a deal price $1.4 billion, the US area company introduced Wednesday.

The deal between NASA and Elon Musk’s firm is a part of the company’s effort to make sure a secure schedule of astronaut flights to the area station as Boeing, one other firm with the same contract, struggles to finish its Starliner area capsule.

The take care of SpaceX “permits NASA to take care of a steady US functionality for human entry to the area station via 2030, with two distinctive industrial companions within the trade,” she mentioned.

SpaceX and Boeing signed multibillion-dollar contracts with NASA in 2014 to develop, check and conduct area capsule flights able to transporting astronauts to the area station, an Earth-orbiting analysis laboratory.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has flown 5 instances because it was examined in 2020, changing into the primary industrial flight of people past orbit. This renewed NASA’s manned flight program after the shuttle program was retired in 2011.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule, whose growth has been slowed by technical difficulties, ought to have its first flight with astronauts in February subsequent yr.

NASA initially ordered six flights from every firm, however firstly of this yr, as a result of Boeing’s technical issues, it ordered three extra from SpaceX.