As it contemplates a future without access to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, NASA will make some key moves to ensure that Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which has a decidedly checkered record in spaceflight to date, is safer and can continue flying after its Atlas V rocket retires. Multiple sources confirmed to Ars that as early as next week, NASA will announce that it will order two additional Starliner crewed missions from Boeing, pay some of the costs to fix the spacecraft’s thruster issues, and provide support to certify the spacecraft’s launch on a new rocket. NASA is taking these steps after SpaceX made clear in discussions with space agency officials in recent months that it intends to retire the Crew Dragon vehicle by 2030, if not before.
Crew Dragon is presently the only operational spacecraft NASA has available for routine astronaut missions to low-Earth orbit. After long signaling it privately, SpaceX has begun to publicly confirm its intentions to wind down the Dragon program, a remarkable move given that the vehicle began flying humans just six years ago. However, the company is seeking to pivot toward its much larger Starship rocket, with the intent of launching its more lucrative Starlink satellites and a new megaconstellation focused on orbital data centers.
This week, on the All-In Podcast, SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell was asked if the company would respond to demand for Crew Dragon and keep flying the vehicle “for some time.” Shotwell would not commit to that. Then Shotwell suggested that Boeing should really step up and deliver. So we’re just gonna let them have some business.
They should fly their capsule. The government paid a lot of money for that.”
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