NASA is adding six post-certification missions to SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contract, ordering up to three immediately and three more as needed through 2030. Boeing’s Starliner remains uncertified for crewed flight, leaving SpaceX as the sole U.S. provider of ISS crew rotation.
NASA issued a procurement notice declaring plans to incorporate six additional post-certification flights into the existing Commercial Crew Transportation Capability agreement with SpaceX. Officials indicated they would commit to as many as three of the flights right after expanding the contract, while holding the other three in reserve for later use until the International Space Station reaches the close of its scheduled service in 2030.
With Boeing effectively sidelined for the foreseeable future, SpaceX is the only American company capable of rotating crews to the station.
The agency pointed to several interconnected issues prompting the increase. Among them were recently shortened ISS mission durations, technical problems and schedule delays experienced by Boeing, the division of flights between Boeing and SpaceX, projections regarding availability of any alternative crewed transport option, and persistent engineering hurdles in sustaining dependable crewed access to the station.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner remains uncertified for human spaceflight, and its most recent mission manifest excluded any cargo-only Starliner outing. As a result, Boeing stays sidelined for the time being, leaving SpaceX as the sole U.S. provider able to exchange crews at the orbital laboratory.
Background on the agreement reveals how the partnership evolved. NASA first granted SpaceX the Commercial Crew contract back in 2014 for $2.6b. Then in 2022 the agency amended it by adding five more missions spanning Crew-10 through Crew-14 at a value of $1.436b, which raised the overall contract total to $4.9b at the time.
Crew-12 remains docked at the station now, while Crew-13 has its assignment and aims for a mid-September 2026 liftoff. Although NASA has not disclosed any price tag for the latest six missions, the 2022 benchmark of roughly $287m per flight implies the added block may total close to $1.7b in extra contract value. With SpaceX also readying Starship to serve as NASA’s Artemis lunar lander, preparing its S-1 filing ahead of a June IPO, and taking on further ISS crew rotation duties, the firm’s position as the lead contractor for U.S. human spaceflight has become official NASA policy rather than coincidence.
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