NASA Awards $30 Million to Private Space Companies

Three companies will be responsible for shuttling astronauts to and from the International Space Station

NASA has awarded $30 million to help three private companies ensure that their astronaut taxis are safe and reliable, agency officials announced Monday.

Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp. will each receive about $10 million to begin certifying that their respective private spaceflight systems meet NASA requirements for ferrying crews to and from the International Space Station. A second and final contract in this process — which is known as the certification products contracts, or CPC — will be awarded in the future, agency officials said.