NASA awards SpaceX $946 million contract for three more astronaut missions to International Space Station

On September 18, 2026, NASA announced a $946 million contract to SpaceX for three additional astronaut missions to the International Space Station, extending crewed flights through 2030. This brings SpaceX's total NASA astronaut flights to 17 and the contract value to $5.92 billion. NASA chose SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to develop crew spacecraft, but Boeing's Starliner had problems in 2024, leading to a nine-month ISS stay for two astronauts. SpaceX has been NASA's primary crew provider since 2020, using Crew Dragon and Falcon 9.