SpaceX wins space tender for $733.5 million

The oldest military space organization in the US Armed Forces, which is dedicated to space development, launches, logistics and management of the country’s spaceports, was looking for a contractor for two “tasks” with a price fixed, writes ArsTechnica. It involves launching satellite constellations for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Aeronautical Intelligence Agency.

The parameters of the competition were formulated in such a way that they essentially narrowed the competition to two bidders: SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. SpaceX won both bids for a total of $733.5 million (approximately $91.7 million per mission). All launches are scheduled from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California starting in late 2025.

Until 2029, the Command intends to announce several dozen more tenders and conclude contracts with service providers for the launch of compact aircraft and medium-range missiles for at least 30 missions. Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Relativity Space, Stoke Space, etc. could participate in these competitions (but Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket does not meet the required parameters).

In parallel with the news of winning the tender, SpaceX announced that the Falcon 9 launch vehicle safely launched a new batch of 20 satellites into orbit to replenish the Starlink global Internet coverage network. In total, within the framework of the project, whose investment is estimated at 10 billion dollars, Starlink launched more than 7.1 thousand satellites (6.4 thousand in operation), and SpaceX’s immediate goal is to expand the orbital constellation to 12 thousand.