Three more flights through 2030
NASA awarded SpaceX a 946 million dollar contract modification to fly three more astronaut missions to the International Space Station. The flights are Crew-15, Crew-16 and Crew-17, and they lift the company's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability agreement to 17 missions and a total value of 5.92 billion dollars. The performance period runs through 2030. SpaceX said Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon capsules will launch the missions from Florida. The award covers launch, ground operations, in-orbit support, return and cargo transport, plus the role Dragon plays as a lifeboat while it is docked at the station.
Starliner stays grounded
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner has still not flown an operational crew rotation. Its 2024 crewed test flight ended with the astronauts returning on a different vehicle, and technical questions kept the capsule out of service since then. NASA said the change keeps access to the station with two commercial partners, but the agency has now ordered the extra missions from SpaceX because those flights had to be scheduled. Three additional post-certification slots remain unassigned and could go to Boeing if Starliner wins certification.
Station work continues
SpaceX is flying Crew-12 now and is preparing to launch Crew-13 in early October. NASA has said it plans to keep the station operating through 2030, which sets the clock for the remaining crew rotation missions and for the commercial stations meant to follow. Separately, IBM and NASA released an open-source AI model built to help researchers analyze decades of lunar observation data, and the European Space Agency called for its member states to coordinate competing satellite programs so they do not duplicate work.
The modification also covers cargo transport and the job Dragon does as a lifeboat while docked with the station. NASA has ordered the extra flights in stages as the station's planned lifetime was extended, and each order depends on funding set in the agency's annual budget.