With a new $946 million, NASA has extended Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ:SPCX) crewed ISS mission commitments through 2030, bringing the total contract value to nearly $6 billion. This news comes after CFO Bret Johnsen showed confidence that the company can reach $100 billion in annual revenue run rate by the end of 2026, a figure I find hard to believe. I pointed that out in my previous coverage of the stock: SpaceX Said $100 Billion Is Within Reach, Its Cash Flow Tells Another Story.
The move is explicitly intended to preserve redundancy, with Boeing expected to provide a second option for transporting astronauts. However, that redundancy remains more of a future objective than a current reality. Boeing’s Starliner has not carried astronauts since its troubled 2024 test flight and is not expected to achieve crew certification until 2027 at the earliest. Meanwhile, According to Ars Technica, SpaceX has separately informed NASA that it plans to retire Crew Dragon by 2030, which is also when the latest contract coverage ends.
NASA Extends SpaceX’s Crewed ISS Missions Through 2030
On September 18, SpaceX secured another $946 million from NASA for three additional crewed missions to the ISS, increasing its total NASA astronaut missions to 17 and the overall contract value to $5.92 billion. The agreement includes astronaut and spacecraft preparation, crew returns, cargo transportation, capsule recovery, in-space operations, and launches. NASA initially awarded crew contracts to both SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 as it sought to restore independent U.S. crew-launch capabilities following the space shuttle’s retirement. SpaceX’s role has grown substantially since Boeing’s Starliner experienced propulsion problems during its 2024 crewed test flight. Those issues ultimately led the astronauts to return aboard Crew Dragon after their stay extended beyond nine months. NASA has said it wants both companies to fly crew missions so that a problem with one provider does not disrupt access to the space station.
One Provider, Not Two
According to NASA’s inspector general, Boeing’s Starliner is not expected to receive crewed-flight certification until 2027 at the earliest, while its next mission is planned as a cargo-only flight. Boeing’s cumulative losses on the Starliner program had surpassed $2 billion by 2025. SpaceX faces its own deadline, having told NASA that it intends to retire Crew Dragon by 2030. That creates a notable timing issue, as NASA has just extended funding for the same spacecraft through the same year that the International Space Station is scheduled to retire.
Securing Crew Dragon capacity through 2030 gives NASA greater certainty over crew transportation in the short term. But the longer-term outlook remains unsettled, with Boeing still years away from returning to crewed missions and SpaceX planning to retire Crew Dragon as the ISS itself approaches retirement. As a result, NASA’s ability to maintain a dependable crew access system beyond the end of this decade remains an open question.
As per our database, SpaceX had 119 hedge funds among its institutional holders at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2026. Meanwhile, short interest was just 2.76% of float as of August 31, 2026. The ownership and the short interest figures show that institutional sentiment remains broadly constructive and toward the company’s long-term outlook.
While NASA contracts are a central part of SpaceX’s future strategy, much of the investor attention continues to be based on Elon Musk’s extreme targets of building data centers in space, which he calls a cheaper alternative to earth for AI computing.
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