NASA provided three US companies to new contracts for delivery of cargo to the ISS – TASS

WASHINGTON, Jan 15. / Correspondent. Ivan Lebedev TASS /. The American company Orbital ATK, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada have entered into an agreement with Nasa on delivery of cargoes to the International Space Station (ISS) for the period until 2024. As announced on Thursday by representatives of space agencies of the USA, each of them should be ensured by 6 flights of their ships to the orbital complex.

“Orbital ATK and SpaceX, using respectively ships Cygnus and Dragon, delivered to the orbital complex required loads in the last three years and will continue to do so in the coming years. Previously, these contracts were awarded totaling $ 3.5 billion. The company Sierra Nevada for the first time will begin to use these to your ship Dream Chaser, resembling the small shuttle. Previously, SpaceX and Orbital ATK contracts were concluded on 8 and 12 flights totaling $ 3.5 billion. It is expected that approximately the same amount will be new contracts with three companies.

However, as explained Head of the ISS NASA Sam Shimemi, “the exact amount of call is difficult.” “The cost of each journey will depend on the nature and scope of the payloads” that can be located in a sealed or unsealed packaging, he said, speaking at a press conference at the Space Center Johnson in Houston (Texas).

Shimemi noted that all three of the ship differ from each other and placed in orbit by different carriers, but they fully meet the stringent requirements that were put forward by NASA at the announcement of commercial competition . At the first stage it was also attended by the giants aerospace United States – Boeing and Lockheed Martin, who later abandoned the competition with young but very aggressive competitors.

It is assumed that the first flight to the ISS is one of the “trucks” under the new contract will take place in 2019. Until that time, Dragon and Cygnus will deliver to water, food and materials for scientific experiments under previous agreements. Shimemi explained that every year from American ships required 4 flights to the orbital complex. Georgia needs to also deliver Russian “Progress” and the Japanese “Konotori”.

Director of the Johnson Space Center, Ellen Ochoa emphasized that the new contracts will ensure the supply of the ISS cargo, possibly until the end of its work. The United States, Russia, Canada and Japan announced that they intend to use the station at least until 2024. As for the European Space Agency, it will continue to discuss this issue in preparation for its long-term budget, and it is possible that the final decision will be taken only in 2017.