NASA no longer needs Russia in sending astronauts to the ISS space station-Information Technology

NASA has invested more flights to the ISS station to prioritize maintaining the US astronaut team.

According to Engadget, NASA may no longer have to rely on Russia to send astronauts to the ISS.

Ars Technica notes that the agency has purchased five more crewed flights to the ISS from SpaceX, or a number enough to keep the US staffing “uninterrupted” on the station until it does. Operation is expected in 2030.

Since NASA still intends to use Boeing’s Starliner, the new SpaceX missions will be essential to make the plans rotate between the two companies.

NASA probably won’t need Russia to send more astronauts to the ISS.

The additional flights could be used as early as 2026. They will help back up and keep the ISS operating safely should any problems prevent Boeing or SpaceX from launching in time, NASA said. . Currently, SpaceX is the only private company certified to send astronauts into space. On the Boeing side, the airline is not currently expected to launch their first space mission until 2023.

This may not deprive Boeing of the opportunity to send astronauts to the ISS. However, if NASA doesn’t order more flights, the company could miss a big opportunity to partner with SpaceX. The current arrangement offers a total of 14 Crew Dragon flight missions compared to the previous 6 Starliner trips – the aerospace giant will lose a large chunk of its potential business to SpaceX, a name that still exists. new to space missions.