U.S. Space Force awards billions to Space X

A long-awaited launch contract for national security missions was announced by the U.S. Space Force after close of business Friday evening. The mission spreads nearly $14 billion worth of missions between Blue Origin, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA). The contract is known as Lane 2 of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3. These are firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contracts that will be issued in batches of missions to the launch providers over a five-year period beginning in FY25. “Today’s award culminates nearly three years of government and industry partnership to increase launch resiliency and capacity,” explained Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space. “The result is assured access to space for our national security missions, which increases the military’s readiness.” The Space Force anticipates awarding 54 launches across the five order years with SpaceX receiving about 60 percent of the missions (28 laun ... Read full article.