NASA Expands Its SpaceX Crew Contract to USD 5.92 Billion with Three More Dragon Flights

19 September 2026National

NASA expanded its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract with SpaceX on 18 September 2026 through a USD 946 million modification, adding three crewed Dragon flights - Crew-15, Crew-16 and Crew-17 - to the International Space Station. The contract's total value rises to about USD 5.92 billion and now covers 17 operational missions, running through 2030. SpaceX handles ground processing, launch, in-orbit operations, crew return and capsule recovery, and provides lifeboat capability while Dragon is docked. Boeing, the programme's other provider, is expected to begin crewed Starliner flights to the ISS in the third quarter of 2027. Crew-13 launches in October 2026.

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NASA's Commercial Crew Program was created to end US dependence on Russian Soyuz seats after the Space Shuttle retired in 2011 | SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk in 2002 and is headquartered at Hawthorne, California | The International Space Station orbits in low-Earth orbit at roughly 400 km altitude

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