SpaceX has expanded its contract with NASA to conduct three more crewed Dragon flights to the International Space Station (ISS), potentially earning the company up to $946 million. This agreement will increase SpaceX's total missions under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract to 17 operational flights, as announced by NASA on Friday.
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The additional flights are intended to help maintain NASA's access to the ISS with support from two commercial crew partners; Boeing is also providing transportation to the ISS via its Starliner, which is expected to launch uncrewed soon and commence crewed missions in the third quarter of 2027.
SpaceX's responsibilities include ground support, launch, in-orbit operations, return and recovery, and cargo transportation for each mission, as well as providing a lifeboat capability while docked at the ISS. Since its partnership with NASA began, SpaceX has earned a total of $5.92 billion from the agency.
NASA's Crew 13 launch with SpaceX is scheduled for October, followed by Crew 14 expected to take place in the spring of 2024. Meanwhile, the company is reportedly moving towards winding down its Dragon program, which began human spaceflights six years ago, in favor of its Starship rocket that is still under development.