Space Force and NASA order more than a dozen launches from ULA and SpaceX

Space is important to us and that’s why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

---

The Space Force and NASA separately announced contract selections for several different programs this week, confirming United Launch Alliance and SpaceX will launch the dozen-plus missions on top of already packed manifests.

The Space Force's Space Systems Command recently announced both companies were selected for a slate of national security missions, like intelligence-gathering satellites, scheduled to fly through 2024. Of the eight missions assigned, ULA won five and SpaceX was awarded three.

Most will launch from the Eastern Range, meaning Cape Canaveral Space Force Station or Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX operates a pad on both facilities, while ULA uses the Cape. Two missions will launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The Space Force selected the companies' two main products: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and ULA's Vulcan Centaur. The latter is still in development and has not yet flown, but ULA is targeting late this year for Vulcan's premiere.

Though sparse on details due to security, the Space Force missions include:

• ULA: The seventh of 10 Global Positioning System satellites, GPS III-7, will fly from Cape Canaveral.

• ULA: The last Wideband Global SatCom communications satellite, WGS-11, will also launch from the Cape.

• ULA: Vulcan Centaur was selected for three more Cape missions, but the Space Force said nearly all details are classified.

• SpaceX: USSF-124, also a classified payload, will launch from Vandenberg.

• SpaceX: USSF-62, which includes an environmental and space weather satellite, will also fly from Vandenberg.

• SpaceX: Finally, a Falcon 9 will launch the Space Development Agency's second batch of satellites to help build a large network for intelligence gathering and communications. Vandenberg will host.

The selections build on an already rapid launch cadence at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. Both companies have dozens of missions on their short-term manifests slated to fly in the near future, potentially pushing the Eastern Range toward its unofficial one-launch-a-week goal.

NASA adds to SpaceX contract

NASA this week also said it selected SpaceX to fly an additional five missions to the International Space Station, all of which would take astronauts to and from the outpost in low-Earth orbit.

The agency said the modification to SpaceX's existing contract was necessary after the ISS program was extended to 2030. The company has so far flown five crewed missions for NASA.

Phil McAllister, director of commercial space at NASA, said the decision comes on the heels of a successful flight by Boeing's Starliner capsule to and from the ISS in May. Starliner could fly its first batch of astronauts late this year or early next year, giving NASA two vehicles – along with SpaceX's Crew Dragon – to take astronauts to and from the ISS.

"However, we will need additional missions from SpaceX to implement our strategy of having each commercial provider flying alternating missions once per year," McAllister said in a release. "Our goal has always been to have multiple providers for crewed transportation to the space station. SpaceX has been reliably flying two NASA crewed missions per year, and now we must backfill those flights to help safely meet the agency’s long-term needs."

NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX in 2014 under multibillion-dollar contracts to replace the space shuttle, which retired three years earlier. This week's announcement also comes after the agency selected SpaceX for three more missions – Crew-7, 8, and 9 – that will begin flying in 2023.

"The current sole source modification does not preclude NASA from seeking additional contract modifications in the future for additional transportation services as needed," NASA said."

It remains to be seen if reports of a Russian cosmonaut flying on Crew Dragon, circulating since at least last year, will come to fruition at NASA. A recent report by Ars Technica quoted a NASA official as saying the option was still on the table, but required more work with Russia – in other words, not very soon.

The selection of SpaceX comes as founder Elon Musk this week took aim at work-from-home policies across his companies. He said employees of the automaker Tesla, whether working hands-on projects or not, will have to be in the office at least 40 hours a week or leave the company.

"Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean minimum) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla," he said in a leaked, all-hands email.

When asked about the email on Twitter, Musk said those employees "should pretend to work somewhere else."

The Space Coast's next launch, meanwhile, is on target for the late afternoon of Wednesday, June 8. A Falcon 9 rocket will launch an Egyptian communications satellite for operator NileSat from the Cape's Launch Complex 40 sometime between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. EDT. The mission will fly east and include a drone ship landing.

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.

Launch Wednesday, June 8

• Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

• Mission: NileSat-301 communications satellite

• Launch Time: 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EDT

• Launch Complex: 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

• Trajectory: East

• Landing: Drone ship

• Weather: Forecast expected Monday

Visit floridatoday.com/space at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, for real-time updates and video.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Space Force and NASA order more than a dozen launches from ULA, SpaceX