spacetoday.net: Space Force awards SpaceX $1.6 billion contract for 18 launches

Posted: Sat, Aug 1, 2026, 10:30 AM ET (1430 GMT)
The Space Force selected SpaceX for 18 Falcon 9 launches to deploy military satellite constellations. The Space Force announced Wednesday it awarded two task orders valued at $1.6 billion for the launches, scheduled to take place through the end of 2027 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launches will support the Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, which includes the Space Development Agency's Tracking Layer of missile-tracking satellites; the Space Data Network Backbone, an optically linked communications network being built by SpaceX; and the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program, another SpaceX-led constellation intended to track aircraft and other airborne targets from orbit. The launch award is the largest publicly disclosed order under National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1, the contract the Space Force uses for lower-risk national security missions.