SpaceX wins $1.6 billion Space Force order for 18 Falcon 9 launches
SpaceX · U.S. Space Force
The Space Force ordered 18 Falcon 9 launches through 2027 for missile-tracking, targeting and comms satellites, worth $1.6B.
what happened
The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX $1.6 billion across two task orders for 18 Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, to be completed by the end of 2027, per SpaceNews and Reuters. The missions will carry satellites for the Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, including the Space Development Agency's infrared missile-Tracking Layer, the Space Data Network Backbone communications relay, and the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator aircraft-tracking constellation, per SpaceNews.
why it matters
SpaceNews calls it the largest publicly disclosed batch of missions under the Space Force's National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 program, whose ceiling Breaking Defense reports was expanded to $17 billion this month. Reuters notes SpaceX has now won at least $7 billion in Pentagon contracts this year, underscoring how thoroughly it dominates Vandenberg-based national security launch even as ULA, Blue Origin and Rocket Lab compete for the same Lane 1 work.
for who
Launch providers competing for NSSL Lane 1 work
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- SpaceX, U.S. Space Force
- Category
- procurement
- Impact
- major
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-07-29
- Published
- 2026-07-30 05:32 UTC