Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, And Boeing-Lockheed’s ULA Bag $13.5 Billion Pentagon Launch Contracts

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, and Boeing Co. BA and Lockheed Martin Corp.’s LMT United Launch Alliance (ULA) have been awarded contracts by the U.S. Space Force.

These contracts, valued at $13.5 billion, are intended for launching critical satellites into orbit by 2029.

What Happened: These contracts are part of the Space Force’s National Security Space Launch program, which will allocate approximately 54 missions through incremental task orders.

SpaceX will handle 28 missions, securing $5.9 billion, while ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, will conduct 19 missions for $5.3 billion.

Blue Origin will manage seven missions, valued at $2.3 billion, with launches planned for later years.

The program recognizes these companies as leading U.S. rocket providers, despite Blue Origin’s limited launch experience compared to SpaceX and ULA.

SpaceX plans to utilize its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets for the Phase 3 missions.

ULA’s Vulcan rocket, recently certified for national security missions, will also be used. The awards are part of the Phase 3 program’s “Lane 2” track, which involves the Pentagon’s most challenging and costly missions.

SpaceX is expected to receive the majority of the missions in the program’s first year, reflecting its high launch rate.

Elon Musk quipped that despite ULA bagging 40% of the Phase 3 missions, they cannot deliver on them yet.

“I hope they succeed, but they aren’t there yet.”

Why It Matters: This latest award highlights SpaceX’s growing influence in securing federal contracts, a trend that has been building over recent years.

In March, it was reported that SpaceX was on track to secure billions in federal contracts under the Trump administration, with backing for its rocket technology for military cargo transportation.

Meanwhile, international competition is heating up, as Chinese startups, with support from President Xi Jinping, aim to challenge SpaceX’s dominance by 2030. China’s private space sector is making strides with reusable rockets.

Additionally, SpaceX’s recent success in safely returning NASA astronauts from the International Space Station further underscores its reliability and capability in space missions.

This was demonstrated in March when astronauts returned to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon capsule after an extended mission.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: SpaceX