WASHINGTON, United States: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX; Nasdaq: SPCX) won a $1.6 billion Falcon 9 launch contract on July 29 for 18 US Space Force missions through 2027.
Space Systems Command awarded two task orders under Phase 3 Lane 1 of the National Security Space Launch program. All 18 missions will lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The launches will support the Space-Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, according to the official Space Systems Command announcement.
The satellites will help detect and target airborne objects and provide near-real-time communications across US forces.
The command expects SpaceX to complete every launch by the end of 2027. However, it did not disclose individual mission dates or specify a monthly launch cadence.
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Space Force Colonel Eric Zarybnisky said officials completed the acquisition process within two months. That period included one month for launch providers to prepare their proposals.
SpaceX secured two related satellite contracts in May. The Space Force awarded the company $4.16 billion for the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program and $2.29 billion for the Space Data Network Backbone.
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The first programme will track airborne targets from orbit. Meanwhile, the second will transport information between sensors and other military systems through a low-Earth-orbit communications network.
Reuters placed the awards within the Trump administration’s preparations for the estimated $185 billion Golden Dome missile-defence initiative.
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However, the Space Force’s latest announcement did not formally identify the 18 launches as Golden Dome missions.
The Falcon 9 launch contract comes as the Space Force expands its Lane 1 requirement from about 60 to 170 missions over a five-year ordering period.
