SpaceX Secures New Contracts Worth $733.5 Million For National Security Space Missions (spacenews.com) 39
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Space News: SpaceX has been awarded contracts for eight launches under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program, the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command announced Oct. 18. The contracts worth $733.5 million span seven missions for the Space Development Agency (SDA) and one for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) projected to launch in 2026. These are part of the NSSL Phase 3 procurement of launch services for U.S. defense and intelligence agencies.
The NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 program is structured as an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, a flexible procurement method often used in government contracting. The total value of the Lane 1 contract is estimated at $5.6 billion over five years, with Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) selected as the primary vendors to compete for individual task orders. The Space Development Agency is utilizing SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to launch small satellites into a low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation, a network of satellites designed to enhance military communications and intelligence capabilities. SpaceX has already completed two successful launches for the Tranche 0 portion of SDA's constellation.
"The Phase 3 Lane 1 construct allows us to execute launch services more quickly for risk-tolerant payloads, putting more capabilities in orbit faster to support national security," said Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space at the Space Force. Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket has yet to perform its first launch and will need to complete at least two successful flights to qualify for NSSL certification, while ULA's Vulcan Centaur, which has completed two flights, is still awaiting final certification for the program.
The NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 program is structured as an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, a flexible procurement method often used in government contracting. The total value of the Lane 1 contract is estimated at $5.6 billion over five years, with Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) selected as the primary vendors to compete for individual task orders. The Space Development Agency is utilizing SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to launch small satellites into a low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation, a network of satellites designed to enhance military communications and intelligence capabilities. SpaceX has already completed two successful launches for the Tranche 0 portion of SDA's constellation.
"The Phase 3 Lane 1 construct allows us to execute launch services more quickly for risk-tolerant payloads, putting more capabilities in orbit faster to support national security," said Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, program executive officer for Assured Access to Space at the Space Force. Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket has yet to perform its first launch and will need to complete at least two successful flights to qualify for NSSL certification, while ULA's Vulcan Centaur, which has completed two flights, is still awaiting final certification for the program.
$700 million?! (Score:4, Funny)
That's an awful lot of money.
Why, you could buy a third of a mobile launcher for that, or a sixth of a single SLS launch.
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$700 million?! That's an awful lot of money. Why, you could buy a third of a mobile launcher for that, or a sixth of a single SLS launch.
I guess we’ll just forget about the $700 billion spent across two decades of R&D to get to that $700 million dollar multi-launch price point. Doesn’t fit a narrative punch line so well.
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Let NASA and cold-war Military Contractors justify (Score:2)
I'm in favor of new companies building rockets, doing space launches and doing them tens of percent cheaper than NASA and the old-school cold war defense contractors.
Competition in this area is much needed to fight back against 70 years of cold-war / post-cold war entrenched overspending by government and perpetuated bureaucracies.
Once there is a money gravy train for decades, both the government and suppliers 'optimize' the system to maximize the amount of money changing hands to the detriment of taxpayers
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They are only tens of percent cheaper because NASA did all the hard work for them.
Anyhow, all Elmo is now is a new defense contractor.
"Once there is a money gravy train for decades, both the government and suppliers 'optimize' the system to maximize the amount of money changing hands to the detriment of taxpayers."
No, why do you think budgets are fought tooth and nail? And how many companies do you think can be stood up to perform that kind of work. Hell, I'll bet you could stand up a new one in, what, an
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They are only tens of percent cheaper because NASA did all the hard work for them.
Mind elaborating a bit on that nonsense? Elons not exactly running off to the moon with an Apollo knock-off, or landing orbit-limited copycat spacecraft with wings on runways. He’s spent plenty over the last two decades of SpaceX development to even get to this point of space contracts. And has plans far beyond worrying how we’re going to infect space with fucking warmongering.
Beating Government pricing isn’t hard. It’s fucking trivial when the ingredient list doesn’t read
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They are only tens of percent cheaper because NASA did all the hard work for them.
Mind elaborating a bit on that nonsense? Elons not exactly running off to the moon with an Apollo knock-off, or landing orbit-limited copycat spacecraft with wings on runways. He’s spent plenty over the last two decades of SpaceX development to even get to this point of space contracts. And has plans far beyond worrying how we’re going to infect space with fucking warmongering.
Beating Government pricing isn’t hard. It’s fucking trivial when the ingredient list doesn’t read “87% pork fat by volume.”
Elon Musk can do no right in some circles. I'm amazed by the progress of SpaceX, especially when most of the people claiming SpaceX has done absolutely nothing new were the same yahoos proclaiming that landing the boosters was absolutely impossible and even if it were possible would be too cost prohibitive to ever be worth doing.
I don't like the dude's politics, nor his tendency to ramble publicly about shit that most high-dollar individuals would be smart enough to keep to themselves, but SpaceX, or someth
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For the military and the three letter agencies, that's peanuts.
Remember: they don't have to be frugal because it's your money they're spending, not theirs.
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Look at budgets, doofus. FEMA gets allotted $X for disasters per year. If there are enough of disasters, the allotment is gone and they must go back to Congress and convince Congress to allocate more....the same Congress which subsidizes flood insurance and building in flood zones.
Re:$700 million?! (Score:4, Insightful)
This is why we can't have nice things.
2024 Space Farce budget - $30 billion
2024 NASA budget - $24 billion
2024 Pentagon budget - $850 billion
All NASA budgets since creation, combined, including Apollo - $675 billion
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And the rest of the budget? $6.75 trillion - your $850 Billion = $5.9 Trillion. And just wait until SS and Medicare run out of money because we are not generating sprogs like we used to in order to pay for them. Suddenly, those immigrants working to pay your Grandmother's SS and Medicare start looking like a good investment. Or she can come and live with you. Save your pennies, her meds are not cheap.
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Social Security and Medicare are not budget items, nor is interest on the debt (most of which was run up by military spending).
(My grandmother's been dead for most of two decades, I'm almost old enough to be in the age group you're referring to.)
Re: Darth Maga makes himself even more unavoidable (Score:1, Insightful)
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Buying Twitter and making it into a cesspool of right-wing nutjobs is Elmo's finest hour.
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MOAR TAXES!! (said no citizen ever) (Score:1)
The US allowing itself to become more and more dependent on this guy is concerning.
Since Trump doesn’t own SpaceX, I can only assume your TDS infection is referring to Elon Musk.
What is disturbing is finding the accomplishments of that guy being attacked and trashed by those who actually feel smart enough to justify that stance. Quite ironic Elon will be forever remembered as the guy who wanted to offer intelligent people a way off a planet made hopeless by the popularity of biased ignorance and stupidity. Not unlike what you’re demonstrating.
If you feel wronged here, then e
Re: MOAR TAXES!! (said no citizen ever) (Score:2, Informative)
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I'll let you in on a little secret that might help you in your school debating club: when you resort to ad hominems to convey your point across, it instantly invalidates your point.
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Shit-for-brains Kamala is a bad choice because she has dumbasses like you advocating for her.
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I see you've triggered the censor mods, even though I think you have it backwards. The orange albatross is the puppet and Musk is a puppeteer. But only one of many puppeteers. The various puppeteers sometimes have conflicting goals, but usually the last one to pull a string "wins" the foolish issue of the day.
The meme I'm looking for? How about a song called "I'm the albatross" based on the old classic "I am the walrus"? With lots of orange and right wings, but no left wings to balance for flying...
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Whoever associates with or roots for Trump is an enemy of democracy.
So what you are saying is that anyone who doesn't vote for Harris is the enemy of democracy? That is, that only voting for Democrats should be allowed in a "democratic" system you have in mind?
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If the US wasn't virtually a 2-party system, I'd tell you to vote anything but Trump. But in this case, anything else is Harris.
And yes, whoever votes Trump is an enemy of democracy. Whether they do it because they have honest intentions but are misguided - which I believe is the vast majority of Trump voters - or because they truly believe the orange conspirationist who wants to kill his political opponents and implement the Purge for real is a good thing for America is another matter.
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TDS at least refers to a person who will be for the most part forgotten about by the time 2025 rolls around. MDS is a much more serious problem.
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The US allowing itself to become more and more dependent on this guy is concerning.
So what you are saying is that government should assign its contracts based on political views?
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Musk wants the former alleged president to become president so he can belly up to the gravy train that former alleged president is sure to direct in his direction. And the former alleged president has every intention of dealing Elmo in because he is scared of everything, especially a media empire that could be used against him.
Re: Darth Maga makes himself even more unavoidable (Score:2)
Musk voted for Biden. In return, the Biden Administration has ignored him, filed pointless lawsuits, dragged out permissions and more.. In the end, he joined Trump in desperation.
He was once quoted: Look, canâ(TM)t we just have two normal people to vote for?
Did you see any recognition from Biden on the spacewalk or the booster catch?
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No, we're concerned about why social media influencer in chief is so desperate to see Trump elected.
Musk seems compromised, to the point of joking that Harris will have him arrested should Trump lose.
Compromised? No. Musk is a very wealthy individual that knows that Trump, who is a wanna-be very wealthy individual, will do everything he can to help wealthy individuals in the hope that they will elevate him back to being wealthy himself. Why people think it's some insidious direct tie between the two is beyond me. Trump couldn't afford to wipe Musk's ass at this point. And he'd probably love the opportunity, in the hopes a few pennies fall from Musk to him in the process.
Hmm... (Score:2)
Elon Musk is Not to be Trusted (Score:1)