On Tuesday, NASA announced its contracts with Boeing and Space Exploration Technology Corp. (SpaceX) to transport American astronauts to the International Space Station. In a press release, NASA described these contracts as "groundbreaking."
The contract promises Boeing in Houston 4.2 Billion dollars to develop its CST-100 spacecraft and SpaceX in Hawthorne, California 2.6 Billion dollars for its Crew Dragon. NASA's decision to fund these private companies allows America's space agency "to focus on getting the most research and experience out of America's investment in the International Space Station," according to NASA's press release.
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden stated on Tuesday in Florida, "From day one, the Obama Administration made clear that the greatest nation on Earth should not be dependent on other nations to get into space."
Since 2011, America has had to rely completely on Russia for transportation to the space station. "Thanks to the leadership of President Obama, the hard work of our NASA and industry teams, and support from Congress, today we are one step closer to launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on American spacecraft and ending the nation's sole reliance on Russia by 2017. Turning over low-Earth orbit transportation to private industry will also allow NASA to focus on an even more ambitious mission - sending humans to Mars," said Bolden.
With the current situation in Ukraine and Crimea, relations with Russia have been difficult. The reliance on Russia for transportation to the space station was not ideal.
Prior to the contract released today, SpaceX already had a contract with NASA transporting cargo to the space station using a spacecraft that is similar to the Crew Dragon.
NASA is hopeful that the contract will benefit the rest of society through the support of these private companies. "Now we also can say we are an American business innovator, spurring job creation and opening up new markets to the private sector," said Kathy Lueders, Manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
