Space Force to Launch 18 Comms and Targeting Missions by End of 2027

The Space Force awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract to conduct 18 launches for communications and targeting satellites by the end of 2027.

Space Systems Command said July 29 it would issue two task orders to the company as part of Phase 3 Lane 1 of its National Security Space Launch program. All 18 launches will fly on SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.

“We have set an unprecedented two-month acquisition timeline under the Phase 3 Lane 1 contract from requirement identification to award,” Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Access Col. Eric Zarybnisky said in a statement. “This includes the one-month period for the launch service providers’ proposal preparation. Ultimately, this timeline results in the speed our warfighter demands more than ever before.”

The satellites are part of the Space Based Sensing and Targeting Portfolio, which includes the Space-Based Air Moving Target Indication program and the Space Data Network, two high-priority Space Force programs. While SSC’s release didn’t identify those programs by name, it highlighted the importance of both missions.

“Sensing and targeting of airborne objects from space and providing near-real-time communications across the joint force, are vital to the defense of our nation,” Zarybnisky said. “The rapid acquisition capabilities provided by our NSSL Phase 3 dual-lane approach allows us the flexibility to deliver satellites for our warfighters in an increasingly efficient manner.”

Along with providing launch services for the programs, SpaceX had already been awarded contracts in late May worth a total of more than $6 billion to build satellites for both efforts.

The Space Force uses its NSSL Lane 1 contracting mechanism to launch national security payloads with less stringent mission assurance requirements. The new SpaceX launch contracts follow an announcement earlier this month that the service expects demand for Lane 1 launches to nearly triple from 60 missions to 170 over a five-year ordering period. The service started awarding Phase 3 launch services in fiscal 2025 and expects to issue new, competitive task orders to its vendor pool through at least fiscal 2029.

“The total number of estimated missions has now increased to approximately 170 due to the growing demand to deliver critical capabilities to orbit for the nation and warfighter,” an SSC spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine on July 22. “As a result, it was necessary to increase the … contract value in response to the new estimated mission quantities expected to be ordered under the Phase 3 Lane 1 contract.”

The service has approved seven companies to compete for missions under its Lane 1 contract:

SpaceX
United Launch Alliance
Blue Origin
Stoke Space
Rocket Lab
Relativity Space
Impulse Space

To qualify for Lane 1 competition, a company’s rocket has to have flown or the firm needs to have a credible path toward flight. All of the companies are on a path toward flight in the next year or two, but to date, only SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin have rockets that have launched at least one mission. However, due to separate anomalies, both ULA’s Vulcan and Blue Origin’s New Glenn are not currently flying.