According to National Aeronautical Space Administration, on its Red Dragon Mars lander mission, SpaceX is willing to spend $300 million.
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The order is a part of the space agency’s efforts to keep developing spacecraft on the USA soil to take astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). On the other side, SpaceX has planned to launch its Crew Dragon capsule from the Kennedy Space Center atop Falcon 9 booster.
Though it’ll be at least another decade or so until NASA sends a ship to Mars, private space firm SpaceX is gearing up to send one of its Red Dragon ships to the red planet in just two years.
NASA said in a statement that SpaceX qualified for a second mission after it hit developmental milestones and internal design reviews for its equipment and launch site.
Alex DeMetrick reports, it’s a different kind of NASA mission for the Baltimore County native, who returned to Earth in 2014, and visited his old home in Cockeysville past year to speak to local children and encourage them to follow their dreams.
Lueders said SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation-100 vehicles will endure at the station, aiding as a “life boat” there for up to 7 months. This left the agency with no primary space vehicle, and NASA has since had to rely on Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, to launch astronauts to the space station.
Gwynne Shotwell, the SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer, added that her company is most appreciative of the trust NASA has placed in the company with this order for another crew mission.
The first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon is expected to fly as early as late summer 2017.
“The order of a second crew rotation mission from SpaceX, paired with the two ordered from Boeing will help ensure reliable access to the station on American spacecraft and rockets“, Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement released Saturday. The capsule will remain at the station for up to 210 days to serve as a lifeboat.
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NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has worked with members of the American aerospace industry to facilitate the development of US human spaceflight systems since 2010. However, the company will have to successfully complete certification process before Nasa gives them the final green signal. The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO)’s 21st mission began last week, and the 16-day mission seems to be going swimmingly.
