The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded launch contracts totaling $1 billion to SpaceX and ULA for seven military space missions set to begin in 2027.
Under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program of the US Department of Defense, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) have won launch contracts totaling $1 billion. This budget has been allocated for seven military space missions that will start in 2027. Elon Musk’s SpaceX will undertake five of the missions for $714 million.
The program aims to put military and intelligence satellites into orbit by acquiring commercial launch services from private companies such as SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin. Since high-cost and critical equipment will be used in these missions, advanced rocket systems capable of carrying heavy payloads are of great importance.
Additional Order to the Previous $13.7 Billion Agreement
This new contract is an additional order to a larger agreement, announced in April, which had a budget of $13.7 billion. At that time, 28 out of 54 launch missions—shared between SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin—were awarded to SpaceX.
These missions are planned to be carried out between 2027 and 2032. The recently announced missions include launches coded USSF-206/WGS-12, USSF-155, NROL-86, USSF-149, and USSF-63.
According to a report by Breaking Defense, the USSF-206 mission will carry the 12th Wideband Global Satcom satellite, developed for encrypted military communication. Most of the other missions are kept classified.
Why Did SpaceX Get So Many Missions?
There are two main determining factors in launch tenders: technological capacity and launch location.
In the April tender, ULA received a small number of missions because the launch pad used for their heavy-lift rocket Vulcan was still under construction. Furthermore, since the company did not have certification for West Coast missions, those launches were automatically transferred to SpaceX.
SpaceX can currently launch from both Florida and California. Despite facing some challenges with the ongoing Starship project, the company has powerful and reliable alternatives like the Falcon Heavy.
Blue Origin Not Yet Ready for Military Missions
Jeff Bezos’s company, Blue Origin, was included in the April orders but does not yet have military launch certification.
NASA partnered with SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics for its Lunar missions in 2020. In subsequent years, NASA also worked with SpaceX on new missions to map space weather events.
Blue Origin is expected to become eligible for military missions by 2027. Therefore, SpaceX’s dominance in the current contracts is notable.
While the Pentagon and government agencies’ main launch partner was historically only ULA, this balance has largely shifted in recent years with the rise of private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.
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