SpaceX Lands 3 Additional NASA Crew Missions Under $946M Contract Modification

The latest NASA award expands SpaceX’s role in transporting astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.

• NASA said the arrangement helps maintain two commercial crew partners for continued access to the ISS.
• The agreement includes ground, launch, in-orbit and recovery services, plus cargo transport and lifeboat capability.
• Crew-12 remains docked at the station, marking SpaceX’s 12th crew rotation mission for NASA.

NASA on Friday awarded SpaceX (SPCX) three additional missions to continue regular crew transportation to the International Space Station through a modification to its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract. 

The award covers the Crew-15, Crew-16 and Crew-17 missions and brings SpaceX’s total missions under the contract to 17.

$946M Contract Covers Three Missions

The firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract modification is valued at $946 million for all three missions and related mission services. The amount covers ground, launch, in-orbit, return and recovery operations, as well as cargo transportation for each mission and a lifeboat capability while docked to the International Space Station.

The period of performance runs through 2030, bringing the total value of SpaceX’s CCtCap contract with NASA to $5.92 billion.

Award Follows May Notice Of Intent

The award follows NASA’s May notice of intent to purchase the three additional missions. NASA said the current sole-source modification does not prevent the agency from seeking additional contract modifications for transportation services in the future, as needed.

NASA originally awarded CCtCap contracts to Boeing (BA) and SpaceX (SPCX) in 2014 through a public-private partnership under its Commercial Crew Program.

Under CCtCap, NASA certifies that a provider’s space transportation system meets agency requirements before the system flies missions with astronauts.

NASA certified SpaceX for crew transportation in November 2020. The company’s Crew-12 mission is currently in orbit and docked to the International Space Station. SpaceX uses its Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket for NASA crew missions, transporting up to four astronauts along with critical cargo to the station.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program uses commercial spacecraft and launch systems to provide human transportation to and from the International Space Station through partnerships with U.S. private industry. The program currently includes both SpaceX and Boeing as commercial crew providers.

Retail View On SPCX

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for SPCX remained in “bullish” territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume was “low.”

SpaceX shares are currently trading at around $152, above its IPO price of $135 but below its all-time high of about $225.

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