SpaceX Nets $946 Million Contract Extension with NASA

NASA has awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract to fly three more astronaut missions to the International Space Station, extending its crewed flights to the station through 2030. The deal raises the total value of SpaceX's NASA contracts to $5.92 billion and brings the number of NASA astronaut flights under the contract to 17.

The contract covers all aspects of launching astronauts to space, including preparing them and their spacecraft on the ground, operating the mission in space, and bringing crews home. It also includes carrying supplies and keeping the spacecraft at the station as an emergency escape vehicle.

NASA is relying heavily on SpaceX to keep astronauts traveling to and from the station while it works to maintain a second U.S. option through Boeing. The agency chose both companies in 2014 to develop spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts to the space station, aiming to give the United States a regular domestic launch capability.