NASA has declared that the private commercial space company SpaceX will officially launch and transport NASA astronauts to the space laboratory, the International Space Station.

Like Us on Facebook

The United States space agency granted contracts to Space X and Boeing to bring astronauts to the ISS and back, via the Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX will be receiving this second order from NASA out of four missions to transport astronaut crew to the ISS under this contract, as Boeing already received the first mission last May.

The SpaceX commercial crew mission is slated for late 2017 however, there is still no exact date for the launch. According to NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager Kathy Lueders, this is exciting news for the two commercial companies to launch their first ever crew missions. NASA is now focusing on developing localized capabilities to deliver crew and crucial scientific experiments from the U.S. to the space station. 

To date, NASA relies on the Russian Federal Space Agency to transport American astronauts from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, launching them to the ISS. The U.S. space agency is currently spending US $80 million for each astronaut to arrive at lower Earth orbit. Now, NASA aims to develop American space vehicles to transport astronauts under the SpaceX and Boeing contracts, at a lower cost.

Boeing will be launching their CST-100 Starliner as SpaceX will use its Crew Dragon vehicle for the manned missions to the ISS. SpaceX's systems also include the Falcon 9 rocket which already passed a development and certification process, as NASA also considered their vehicle development to pass "design maturity" for assembling and testing before the launch.

According to SpaceX president and CEO Gwynne Shotwell, American astronauts will now ride in one of the safest and most reliable spacecrafts ever flown which is the Crew Dragon in 2017. 

Mission orders are carried out two to three years prior to scheduled mission dates for the development and manufacturing of spacecrafts and rocket launch systems. However, there is a possibility that missions might be delayed, as underfunding in the program can lead to some changes. 

The new SpaceX mission for 2017 is expected to carry a maximum of four crew members along with 220 pounds of pressurized cargo. The Crew Dragon is expected to dock at the space station for a period of 210 days that will also serve as an emergency escape vehicle.

When this time comes, NASA will finally choose its preferred space vehicle, Boeing or SpaceX, to launch American astronauts to the ISS for good from American soil as the last Space Shuttle mission ended in 2011.

TagsNASA ISS, SpaceX, SpaceX NASA astronauts ISS, ISS, spacex wins NASA deal fly astronauts to ISS, NASA contract, crew dragon spacex, falcon 9 rocket spacex, spacex nasa astronauts space station, International Space Station, transport NASA astronauts ISS, NASA commercial crew program