NASA Awards SpaceX $946M for Three More ISS Crew Flights

NASA said on September 18, 2026 that it has awarded SpaceX three more crewed flights to the International Space Station through a modification to an existing contract, worth $946 million for the three missions and related services.

The change is made under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract and covers the flights NASA designates Crew-15, Crew-16 and Crew-17. It brings the number of missions SpaceX has been booked for under that contract to 17, and lifts the total CCtCap value with the company to $5.92 billion, according to the agency's release. The period of performance runs through 2030, with mission readiness dates in 2027 and 2028.

The $946 million buys more than launches. NASA said the amount covers ground, launch, in-orbit, and return and recovery operations, cargo transportation on each mission, and a "lifeboat capability" — keeping a Dragon capsule docked at the station as an emergency ride home for the crew on board.

Why now: NASA said the award follows a notice of intent the agency issued in May to buy the additional missions. This is a firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modification made on a sole-source basis, and NASA noted that it "does not preclude NASA from seeking future contract modifications for additional transportation services, as needed."

Why it matters: NASA awarded the original CCtCap contracts to both Boeing and SpaceX in 2014 as a public-private partnership, on the logic that two independent providers would keep US astronauts flying if one was grounded. Twelve years later, all three of the newly purchased rotations went to a single company without competition. NASA framed the modification as helping it "maintain access to the space station with two unique commercial crew industry partners," but the booked flight manifest now runs through SpaceX. For anyone tracking how the station is staffed until its operations wind down, this deal sets the transport plan for the rest of the decade.

SpaceX was certified by NASA to carry astronauts in November 2020. Its Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket carry up to four astronauts plus cargo per flight, and the company's twelfth rotation mission, Crew-12, is docked at the station now.

What is still open: NASA has not published crew assignments or target launch dates for Crew-15, Crew-16 and Crew-17 beyond the 2027 and 2028 readiness window, and has not said whether it will buy further missions after these three.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.