NASA taps SpaceX to launch StarBurst gamma-ray mission
NASA awarded SpaceX a task order to launch its StarBurst gamma-ray-burst detector no earlier than 2028.
what happened
NASA said it awarded SpaceX a firm-fixed-price task order under its VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract to launch the StarBurst mission aboard a Falcon 9 Bandwagon rideshare from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, no earlier than 2028. StarBurst is a smallsat under NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers Program designed to detect the initial high-energy emission from short gamma-ray bursts caused by neutron star mergers, complementing gravitational-wave observations. NASA did not disclose a task-order value; the underlying VADR IDIQ has a $1 billion ceiling across all contracts and providers over its 10-year ordering period.
why it matters
The award keeps SpaceX's Bandwagon rideshare line as NASA's default low-cost path for small science payloads, reinforcing the VADR contract's role in getting Pioneers-class missions to orbit without a dedicated launch procurement.