spacetoday.net: SpaceX and ULA win military launch contracts

SpaceX and ULA win military launch contracts

Posted: Sat, Aug 8, 2020, 5:15 PM ET (2115 GMT)
Vulcan launch vehicle illustration (ULA)

SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have won contracts potentially worth billions of dollars to launch national security satellites for much of the coming decade. The Pentagon announced Friday that the two companies won National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 contracts, covering launches of military and intelligence satellites from fiscal year 2022 through 2027. The Air Force immediately assigned two launches to ULA and one to SpaceX for missions in 2022. SpaceX will use its existing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, while ULA will use its Vulcan Centaur rocket in development. The two companies beat out Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman, which offered their New Glenn and OmegA rockets in development.