In the latest step toward commercial human space flight, Boeing and SpaceX have been chosen to carry the next NASA astronauts into space, the agency announced today.
NASA awarded $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX to send astronauts to the International Space Station and return them safely home, with the goal of meeting all of NASA's safety and performance requirements by 2017.
Despite the discrepancy in contract amounts, both companies must meet the same standards, showing that they can safely ferry crew and cargo between Earth and the space station. The spacecraft must also be able to serve as a lifeboat that can evacuate the space station in an emergency.
The certification process includes a test flight to send at least one NASA astronaut to the space station. Once the companies are certified, they will conduct two to six service missions to the space station with a crew of four astronauts. Because these missions will increase the number of crew at the space station, the amount of scientific research done on the space station will double, said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew program.
Both companies use capsule spacecraft designs: Boeing with its CST-100 and SpaceX with its Dragon V2 spacecraft. Sierra Nevada Corp., whose Dream Chaser shuttle-like spacecraft was considered a major contender, lost out on its bid. Still, Lueders said, NASA is committed to its previously established agreements to continue working with Sierra Nevada and other companies such as Blue Origin, which was founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
As part of its Commercial Crew Program, NASA has already invested tens of millions of dollars over the past few years to help companies develop their own human spaceflight designs.
Since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA has relied on Russia and its Soyuz spacecraft to get to and from the space station. The newly announced partnerships with Boeing and SpaceX will enable the U.S. to end its dependence on Russia by 2017, said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden.
