NASA officially places order with SpaceX to take astronauts to ISS

Friday was indeed a big day for SpaceX as NASA has officially placed an order to it for a manned mission to the International Space Station in 2017. Similar contract was given to Boeing in May. Dragon spacecraft will be used to take astronauts and cargo to the ISS and will remain there for seven months and then would make a comeback on earth.

The announcement was not a surprise for SpaceX as NASA has already unveiled that it would be placing an order with SpaceX in this year. But it was a bit of relaxation for SpaceX, as it has faced a severe accident in June in which its Falcon 9 rocket fell apart.

In 2014, NASA has given contracts to SpaceX and Boeing to build rockets to carry astronauts to the ISS from 2017. For now, NASA is dependent on Russia to take its astronauts to the ISS.

“It is important to have at least two healthy and robust capabilities from U.S. companies to deliver crew and critical scientific experiments from American soil to the space station throughout its lifespan”, affirmed Kathy Lueders, the program’s manager.

For now, NASA has no idea which will be the first company out of the two that will get the opportunity to launch first. It will be most probably unveiled when the launch date gets near.