The contract covers the preparation of astronauts and spacecraft on Earth, launch, mission operations in space, crew return to Earth, and capsule recovery. It also includes the transport of supplies and keeping the spacecraft at the station as an emergency escape vehicle.
NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to develop spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. The goal was to provide the United States with a regular domestic launch capability after NASA ended its space shuttle program, ending years of reliance on the Russian Soyuz vehicle.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft experienced issues during its crewed test flight in 2024, prompting NASA to return the capsule to Earth without a crew, while astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams returned on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, after their mission, originally scheduled for 10 days, extended to over nine months aboard the International Space Station.
NASA approved SpaceX's astronaut flight system in November 2020. Since then, SpaceX has become the agency's primary provider for crew rotation operations at the station.
NASA wants both SpaceX and Boeing to operate crew transport missions, so that an accident or technical issue affecting one company does not halt the arrival of American astronauts at the station.
