WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The first mission order has been submitted to the private space company SpaceX to ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2017, NASA announced in a press release.
"It’s really exciting to see SpaceX and Boeing with hardware in flow for their first crew rotation missions," NASA Commercial Crew Program director Kathy Lueders said.
SpaceX President and CEO Gwynne Shotwell responded to the mission order stating that the company’s Crew Dragon Capsule is "one of the safest, most reliable spacecraft ever flown."
The United States has been entirely dependent on the Russian Soyuz shuttle to get into low Earth orbit, after retiring its shuttle fleet in 2011. Both Boeing and SpaceX must complete certification and other requirements before flying the missions, which are scheduled to take place sometime in 2017.
