The U.S. Space Force has announced a long-awaited launch contract for national security missions, amounting to nearly $14 billion, following business hours on Friday evening.
This contract, known as Lane 2 of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3, distributes the missions among Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance (ULA).
The firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contracts will see the launch providers receiving batches of missions over a five-year period starting in FY25.
Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space, remarked, “Today’s award culminates nearly three years of government and industry partnership to increase launch resiliency and capacity.
The result is assured access to space for our national security missions, which increases the military’s readiness.”
The Space Force projects a total of 54 launches across the five order years, with SpaceX anticipated to receive about 60 percent of the missions (28 launches).
ULA will receive 40 percent (19 launches), while Blue Origin has been allocated seven missions.
Once assigned, these missions are projected to have a two-year integration period, leading to launches scheduled from FY27 to FY32.
However, delays for national security payloads have caused several missions to face prolonged timelines, with issues often stemming from the payload rather than the launch vehicle itself.
For example, the USSF-52 mission, which was the latest flight of the X-37B orbital spaceplane, was awarded to SpaceX as part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Phase 1A contract back in 2018, projected to launch in FY20; the mission, however, did not launch until December 2023.
Similarly, the NROL-107/Silentbarker mission awarded to ULA in 2018 was expected to launch in FY22 but faced delays and finally lifted off in September 2023.
The Space Force strategically divided NSSL Phase 3 into two distinct lanes to broaden the availability of U.S.-based launch providers.
During a media roundtable in 2023, Col. Doug Pentecost, Deputy Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space at the USSF, described Lane 1 as a window of opportunity that is more accommodating.
“Lane 1 is more commercial-like missions or missions that can be risk-tolerant and you don’t have to be completely certified,” said Pentecost.
He added, “You can on-ramp every year to this IDIQ [indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity], and we’ll compete missions individually or in small blocks to ensure good value and allow emerging providers to introduce new capabilities.
They just need to bring what they want to bring.
They don’t need to meet everything.”
In 2024, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA joined Lane 1, while just over a week ago, Rocket Lab and Stoke Space were also included.
To date, only SpaceX has received a Lane 1 task order worth approximately $734 million for seven Falcon 9 launches supporting the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 2 Transporter Layer satellite constellation.
Lane 2 had stricter requirements and mirrors the standards utilized in previous NSSL phases.
In these previous phases, only SpaceX and ULA were selected for all missions which demanded considerably more mission assurance with payloads directed towards challenging orbital destinations.
“Lane 2 is for those more critical payloads, the bigger ones, which we want to launch directly into GEO, allowing the satellites to conserve fuel for space maneuverability if needed,” Pentecost explained.
He continued, “You can imagine that capability is unique to military needs, whereas commercial launch providers generally focus on low Earth orbit (LEO) and transfer orbits for commercial purposes.”
To be eligible for Lane 2 contracts, launch providers must demonstrate the capability to launch rockets from both the Western Range and the Eastern Range and support vertical integration for their rockets.
SpaceX is currently working to activate Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, ensuring a means of vertically integrating its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
This site previously served ULA for its Delta 4 launches.
Meanwhile, ULA is updating SLC-3E from its Atlas 5 configuration to accommodate the new Vulcan rocket.
ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno stated during a media roundtable in March that the installation of propellant tanks is complete, with plumbing work currently underway.
He anticipated that the first Vulcan launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base (for an NSSL Phase 2 mission) could occur by the end of the year, assuming the payload is ready.
“We are proud that we have launched 100 national security space missions and honored to continue serving the nation with our new Vulcan rocket,” Bruno expressed in a statement following the contract announcement.
“We are very pleased to be awarded 40 percent of the Phase 3 procurement.
Vulcan is the right choice for critical national security space missions and is the only rocket today designed to meet all the requirements of our nation’s space launch needs.”
Blue Origin, the newest contender in executing complex national security missions, launched its first New Glenn flight in January and has recently gained clearance for its second flight from the Federal Aviation Administration.
“We are honored to serve additional national security missions in the coming years and contribute to our nation’s assured access to space,” stated Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp on social media.
“This is a great endorsement of New Glenn’s capabilities, and we are committed to meeting the heavy lift needs of our U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence agency customers.”
At this moment, Blue Origin does not operate a launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base; however, plans are underway to establish a launch complex at SLC-9.
Upon the announcement of the contract, both Limp and Bruno expressed their mutual congratulations to each other and SpaceX in posts on social media.
Contrastingly, Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, shared a different sentiment on his social media platform, stating, “Winning 60 percent of the missions may sound generous, but the reality is that all SpaceX competitors combined cannot currently deliver the other 40 percent!
I hope they succeed, but they aren’t there yet.”
image source from：https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/04/05/u-s-space-force-awards-13-7-billion-in-new-national-security-launch-contracts-to-blue-origin-spacex-and-ula/
