The U.S. Space Force announced more than $13.5 billion in launch contracts Friday to SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin for missions that will fly between fiscal years 2027 and 2032.
The awards are part of the service’s National Security Space Launch program, or NSSL, which it uses to acquire nearly all military launch missions. Under the deal, SpaceX will receive $5.9 billion to fly 28 missions, ULA $5.3 billion to launch 19 and Blue Origin $2.3 billion to conduct seven.
While ULA and SpaceX are both NSSL incumbents, Blue Origin is a new entrant to the program. Its New Glenn rocket has not yet completed the Space Force’s certification process, but following its first flight in January, it became eligible to compete.
“Today’s award culminates nearly three years of government and industry partnership to increase launch resiliency and capacity,” Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, program executive officer for assured access to space, said in a statement. “The result is assured access to space for our national security missions, which increases the military’s readiness.”
The Space Force expects to launch 84 missions between fiscal 2027 and 2032 — nearly double the number of missions it launched the previous five years. To meet that demand and create a path for more companies to compete, the service adopted a new strategy for this next batch of missions.
Under that approach, the Space Force created two lanes in which companies can compete. Lane 1 is for commercial-like missions and is geared toward new providers, and Lane 2 — which was awarded Friday — is reserved for firms whose rockets meet more stringent security and performance requirements.
SpaceX, ULA and Blue Origin were also selected to compete for Lane 1 missions, along with Stoke Space and Rocket Lab, which are both developing new rockets slated to fly this year.
The service expects to release its first request for proposals for Lane 1 launches later this spring and companies will have a chance to compete for additional missions in fiscal 2026.
Courtney Albon is C4ISRNET’s space and emerging technology reporter. She has covered the U.S. military since 2012, with a focus on the Air Force and Space Force. She has reported on some of the Defense Department’s most significant acquisition, budget and policy challenges.
