SpaceX Wins Contract to Launch Secret Air Force Space Plane
June 7th, 2017Via: CNN:
A major shift in power is underway in the commercial space industry.
SpaceX has won an Air Force contract to launch a secretive, unmanned X-37B space plane later this year. The upstart rocket outfit edged out United Launch Alliance — a joint venture between Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) — that until recently had a monopoly on United States military launches.
But SpaceX has been on a roll with military contracts. Its latest win is the deal announced Wednesday for SpaceX to handle the launch for the fifth X-37B mission, slated for later this year. The most recent X-37B mission was launched by ULA and ended about a month ago, after it spent nearly two years in space.
Because the X-37B program is largely a confidential military endeavor, the financial terms of the SpaceX deal were not revealed, and the company declined to comment.
SpaceX had to fight for the chance to break up United Launch Alliance’s monopoly and land lucrative military contracts. That started in 2014, when SpaceX sued the government, saying the Air Force wasn’t giving SpaceX fair consideration when it awarded contracts.
The suit was eventually settled, and SpaceX completed its first mission for the Air Force in 2015. The company also signed an $82.7 million military contract last April to send two Air Force GPS satellites into orbit in 2018.
