SpaceX has won its first military contract — $82.7 million to send a U.S. Air Force Global Positioning System satellite into space — breaking a long-held Boeing-Lockheed monopoly on military space launches.
SpaceX Gets First GPS Launch Contract
Key Takeaways:
- SpaceX secured its first U.S. military contract, an $82.7 million deal to launch an Air Force GPS satellite in May 2018.
- This contract ends the long-standing monopoly held by Boeing and Lockheed's United Launch Alliance (ULA) on military space launches, introducing competition.
- ULA dropped out of the bidding due to congressional restrictions on Russian-made rocket engines, while SpaceX plans to lower costs with reusable rockets.
- The deal provides SpaceX with a lucrative new revenue source, with the Air Force planning bids for eight additional satellite launches by 2018.
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