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NASA commercial crew program expansion

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2026-09-29 02:32 UTC → 2026-09-29 02:32 UTC · added removed

NASA is expanding its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) program through new contracts with both Boeing and SpaceX to ensure continued access to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station (ISS). To support Boeing, NASA has plans to order two additional crewed Starliner missions and provide financial assistance to address propulsion system issues. This follows the technical failures of a 2024 mission, where helium leaks and malfunctioning thrusters forced two astronauts to return to Earth via a SpaceX capsule after nine months on the ISS. NASA and Boeing have established a recovery roadmap following the reclassification of a the 2024 mission as a “Type A mishap,” the agency’s most severe incident classification. This mission, which involved mishap”. Technical fixes will address helium leaks system seal degradation and malfunctioning thrusters, necessitated a SpaceX rescue for two astronauts. thruster corrosion caused by hydrazine reacting with carbon dioxide. Boeing is implementing design modifications to service module thrusters and upgrading hardware, including new batteries and redesigned parachute joints. NASA plans expects to invest an additional $359 million toward hardware upgrades—including redesigned propulsion valves, improved batteries, these upgrades and a new data recorder—and the certification of the Vulcan Centaur rocket as a replacement for the retiring Atlas V fleet. NASA aims to launch processes, targeting an uncrewed test flight mission to validate these fixes as early as the ISS no earlier than December 2026 or January 2027. 2027 to validate hardware improvements. If successful, the agency uncrewed flight succeeds, NASA plans to launch the next crewed mission, Starliner-2, in mid-2028, commanded by astronaut Woody Hoburg. NASA is also working with Boeing and United Launch Alliance to certify the Vulcan Centaur rocket as a replacement for the retiring Atlas V fleet. Maintaining Boeing as a second provider alongside SpaceX remains a strategic priority to ensure sustained access to the ISS low Earth orbit through its planned retirement in the early 2030s. Simultaneously, NASA has awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract modification for three additional crewed missions to the ISS, designated Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17. This increases the total SpaceX CCtCap contract value to $5.92 billion, bringing the total number of SpaceX missions under the contract to 17.

Versions

  1. 2026-09-29 02:32 UTC NASA commercial crew program expansion
  2. 2026-09-29 02:32 UTC NASA commercial crew program expansion
  3. 2026-09-29 01:15 UTC NASA commercial crew program expansion
  4. 2026-09-28 21:51 UTC NASA commercial crew program expansion
  5. 2026-09-28 20:43 UTC NASA commercial crew program expansion
  6. 2026-09-26 02:11 UTC NASA commercial crew program expansion
  7. 2026-09-19 00:15 UTC NASA commercial crew program expansion

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