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NASA says SpaceX is only provider so far able to provide astronaut taxi rides - Space.com
Dec 06, 2021 1 min, 26 secs

The company received three more mission orders for Crew Dragon as Boeing Starliner works to get off the ground.

SpaceX is the only American company right now capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station, NASA said in awarding the company additional flights.

The modification will allow the agency to acquire up to three additional flights to the International Space Station using its Crew Dragon system; these would follow the six crewed flights already arranged.

But SpaceX remains the only firm currently capable of the service under its Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities (CCtCap) contract, first awarded in 2014.

"SpaceX's crew transportation system is the only one certified to meet NASA’s safety requirements to transport crew to the space station, and to maintain the agency’s obligation to its international partners in the needed timeframe," NASA said in a Dec.

The agency is working to send larger crews to the space station to boost its science and to make the facility attractive to commercial companies, such as Axiom Space, which will launch the first all-private mission to the complex in early 2022.

The agency then spent several years helping American companies develop replacement commercial crew vehicles before awarding SpaceX and Boeing transportation contracts in 2014.

So NASA awarded the new contract, which is expected to take effect in 2023, to SpaceX, allowing the agency to turn its attention back to helping Boeing with the flight certification, according to the statement. .

—Meet 'Endurance': New SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule gets a name.

It may be that SpaceX and Boeing could be used for future space stations as well; last week, NASA revealed a set of early-stage commercial designs it hopes will be ready to replace the ISS by 2030.

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