SpaceX gets 18 launches from the Pentagon for $1.6 billion

The assignment falls within the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1, the most streamlined and commercially driven procurement channel adopted by the Space Force for missions that do not require the most stringent level of certification expected for military programs. This is the largest order made public so far under this program, as well as the first task order issued after the Space Force nearly tripled the Lane 1 spending cap on July 17 from $5.6 billion to $17 billion. of the contract, took about two months, of which one was dedicated to the preparation of proposals by the companies involved.

SpaceX’s role in this program is not limited to launches. The company already holds contracts to build two key components of the same portfolio: $4.16 billion for the Space Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator system and $2.29 billion for the Space Data Network Backbone. SpaceX therefore finds itself simultaneously managing the construction of central elements of the new military surveillance network and their transport into orbit.

With this latest contract, the total agreements between SpaceX and the Pentagon in 2026 alone exceed 8 billion dollars. The figure adds to a defense portfolio that already includes participation in the software of the Golden Dome missile defense system, launched in April, and a series of GPS launches inherited after the anomaly that occurred with the booster of ULA’s Vulcan rocket.

The Lane 1 supplier pool formally includes seven companies: SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, Stoke Space, Impulse Space and Relativity Space. In fact, SpaceX remains the only operator capable of offering the combination of launch frequency, proven Falcon 9 hardware and West Coast infrastructure needed to support a campaign that requires about one launch per month from Vandenberg for the next year and a half.

Some lawmakers have flagged the growing concentration of national security launches in the hands of a single company as a risk to monitor. For now, however, the Space Force continues to rely on SpaceX, the only company capable of being punctually ready for launch.