NASA originally envisioned alternating missions between SpaceX and Boeing, assuming both companies’ vehicles will be certified around the same time

NASA has announced its intent to purchase three more commercial crew missions from SpaceX as a hedge against further delays in the certification of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner.

NASA issued a contract notification announcing its plans to issue a sole-source award to SpaceX for three missions. Those missions will be in addition to the six post-certification missions, or PCMs, that SpaceX won as part of its $2.6bn Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract in 2014

In October, NASA issued a request for information from American industry capable of providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective human space transportation services to and from the International Space Station to ensure a continuous human presence aboard the microgravity laboratory. After a thorough review of the near-term certified capabilities and responses from American industry, NASA’s assessment is that the SpaceX crew transportation system is the only one certified to meet NASA’s safety requirements to transport crew to the space station, and to maintain the agency’s obligation to its international partners in the needed timeframe, NASA said.

Kathy Lueders, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said: "It’s critical we begin to secure additional flights to the space station now so we are ready as these missions are needed to maintain a US presence on the station. Our US human launch capability is essential to our continued safe operations in orbit and to building our low-Earth orbit economy.”

https://satelliteprome.com/news/nasa-to-purchase-three-commercial-crew-missions-from-spacex/