SpaceX gets NASA Contract to Ferry Astronauts to ISS in 2017

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration approved the flight to the worldwide Space Station set for late 2017, but preparations could begin soon.

She also added that it’s important to have USA companies with healthy and robust capabilities to deliver astronauts and scientific experiments from Earth to the low-orbit space station. SpaceX became the second of what will eventually be four companies to receive a guaranteed order from NASA under Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts.

The SpaceX system includes the spacecraft as well as the Falcon 9 rocket and has surpassed a process of development followed by certification achieving design maturity that authorizes it to be built and tested for launching. The SpaceX and Boeing spacecraft are more than welcomed to start their flights, given that the seats on Russia’s Soyuz rockets cost not less than $82 million each.

“The authority to proceed with Dragon’s first operational crew mission is a significant milestone in the Commercial Crew Program and a great source of pride for the entire SpaceX team”, said Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, in a press release. The commercial space company also has a contract for cargo resupply missions to the ISS, however has been temporarily sidelined following the loss of its Dragon cargo vessel in June. NASA continues to stress it has not chosen which company will fly to the station first.

SpaceX is cleared for lift off. NASA has relied on Russian rocket launches since retiring the space shuttle four years ago.

SpaceX seems to be doing rather well, since last week it was announced that they will also get the AirForce contract for Global Positioning System satellites which are scheduled to launch in 2018. NASA gave Boeing its first crew mission in May. The Crew Dragon will remain at the station for up to 210 days, available as an emergency lifeboat during that time.

This means that NASA won’t know how to deal with the risks of deep space until around the time they plan to send people out to Mars.

In a clip basically created to make us geek out, NASA astronauts essentially play with colored water as it floats around the station. As a result, he said, Mars crews likely will have to accept more risks to their health and safety than their predecessors who went to the moon and work in the global Space Station. Both are still looking to be the first to launch a mission.