The US space agency NASA turned to SpaceX with an application for the implementation of a second manned flight to the International Space Station. According to Caitley Luders, director of NASA's manned flight program, SpaceX's order to conduct a second crew change mission, as well as two other flights ordered by Boeing, will provide American astronauts with reliable and constant access to the station using American ships and rockets.
The concluded contracts will allow the US astronauts to constantly rotate on the ISS, and the capsule can be used as an emergency module for six months.
This is the fourth and last at the moment contract concluded on contractual obligations with commercial companies. After its implementation, NASA will determine with whom it will cooperate longer and under what conditions. Boeing received two of its orders in May and December 2015, SpaceX received the first order in November 2015.
SpaceX meets all the criteria of NASA, whose specialists were fully satisfied with the work carried out by the carrier in terms of upgrading and testing the Dragon spacecraft, Falcon 9 rocket and ground launch systems.
The exact launch date is not called, but it is planned to be implemented by the end of 2018.
The article is based on materials .
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