NASA on Nov. 20 said it ordered the first Commercial Crew launch from Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX).
This is is the second in a series of four guaranteed orders NASA will make under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts. Boeing [BA] received its first crew mission order in May. Each contract includes a minimum of two and a maximum of six missions.
Determination of which company will fly its mission to the International Space Station (ISS) first will be made at a later time. The contracts call for orders to take place before certification to support the lead time necessary for missions in late 2017, provided the contractors meet readiness conditions. Commercial Crew missions to ISS, on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, will restore the United States’ human spaceflight capabilities and increase the amount of time dedicated to scientific research aboard the orbiting laboratory.
SpaceX’s crew transportation system, including the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, has advanced through several development and certification phases. The company recently performed a critical design review (CDR), which demonstrated the transportation system has reached a sufficient level of design maturity to work toward fabrication, assembly, integration and test activities.
In its press release, NASA warned Congress that if it does not receive the full requested funding for Commercial Crew in fiscal year 2016 and beyond, it will be forced to delay future milestones for both U.S. companies and continue its sole reliance on Russia to transport U.S. astronauts to ISS.