As part of the second phase of the NSSL (National Security Space Launch) program, the US Space Forces issued eight launch contracts totaling USD 846 million. Five of them went to the launch operator ULA (a joint enterprise of Boeing and ULA), three to SpaceX.
ULA received the following five missions:
- Launch of the Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral to deploy a GPS satellite.
- Three Vulcan Centaur rocket launches from Cape Canaveral to deploy classified cargo.
- Launch of Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral to deploy SATCOM communications satellite.
SpaceX received the following three missions:
- Launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral to deploy cargo for the Missile Defense Agency.
- Launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Base with the purpose of deploying a weather satellite.
- The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Base with the purpose of deploying cargo for the Agency for the Development of Outer Space.
The NSSL program was initiated in 2019 with the aim of attracting commercial launch operators to missions carried out in the interests of national security and defense in the United States. Four American companies took part in the second phase of the program — ULA, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin. As a result, ULA and SpaceX became the winners. They received, respectively, 60% and 40% of launch contracts for the period up to 2027.
You can also read about NASA’s plans to order five additional Crew Dragon spacecraft flights.
According to https://spaceflightnow.com
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