Image: SpaceX
SpaceX has secured another major win with the U.S. military, landing $739 million in launch contracts tied to missile warning and missile tracking missions for the U.S. Space Force.
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) on Friday announced that the contracts were awarded as part of National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 task orders, aimed at enhancing America’s missile defense capabilities. The awards cover nine launches in total, supporting missions for both the Space Development Agency (SDA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
Under the SDA-2 task order, SpaceX will conduct three launches beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026. These missions will deploy 18 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites built by L3Harris, along with eight Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-warfighter (F2) satellites developed by Millennium Space Systems.
Additional launches were awarded under the SDA-3 task order, which includes two SpaceX launches starting in the third quarter of fiscal year 2027 to deploy another 18 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites built by Lockheed Martin. SpaceX also secured the NTO-5 task order supporting an NRO mission set, with launches projected for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 and the second quarter of fiscal year 2028.
“Our mission to deliver national defense capabilities to the joint force is achieved with each task order we award,” said U.S. Space Force Colonel Matt Flahive, system program director for Launch Acquisition. “The task orders awarded in support of our mission partners, SDA and NRO, demonstrate the importance we have placed on being time efficient and cost conscious in our Phase 3 Lane 1 approach to reliably deliver space capability to the warfighter quicker and at the best value to the American taxpayer.”
The latest awards build on SpaceX’s growing dominance in U.S. military launch contracts. SpaceX’s competitors won none of the contracts that were up for grabs during this round. Last fall, the company also secured a $714 million Pentagon deal for national security launches, further cementing its role as a critical partner for the Department of Defense.
The contracts are also notable given that the Trump administration reportedly sought to significantly trim federal contracts held by SpaceX last summer, before determining that many of them were too essential to cut. With missile tracking and warning systems increasingly central to national defense strategy, SpaceX’s role appears more critical than ever.
