The U.S. Space Force has awarded SpaceX two launch task orders worth $1.6 billion, locking in 18 Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California through the end of 2027. The package is the largest publicly announced batch of missions yet under the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 program.
The launches will support the Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, a military constellation effort that includes the Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer, the Space Data Network Backbone and the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program. For SpaceX, the deal adds a long runway of work from the West Coast, where the company’s launch pace and Falcon 9 fleet already anchor much of the military’s current cadence.
Col. Eric Zarybnisky said the Space Force moved fast. The service identified the need, ran the competition and made the award in roughly two months, and industry had about one month to prepare proposals. That speed matters because the award is also the largest publicly disclosed order under National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1, a lane that is meant to let qualified providers compete for missions without the most demanding certification process.
The size of the task also shows why SpaceX won this package. Seven companies hold positions on the Lane 1 contract vehicle, but the 18-launch schedule points to a sustained pace of roughly one mission a month from Vandenberg, a tempo that few competitors could match. SpaceX is the only company with the combination of launch frequency, operational Falcon 9 rockets and West Coast infrastructure needed to support a campaign of that scale.
Some of the money trail is still opaque. The Space Force has said the award breaks into two launch task orders, but it has not publicly explained how the 18 missions or the $1.6 billion total are divided between them. What is clear is that the service is buying time and cadence as much as lift: the launches are now booked through 2027, and the next milestone is execution, one Falcon 9 at a time.
The award also lands against a broader shift in how the Pentagon buys launches. Earlier this month, the Space Force raised the Phase 3 Lane 1 contract ceiling to $17 billion from $5.6 billion, widening the room for future orders. SpaceX already holds separate multibillion-dollar contracts tied to the Space Data Network Backbone and the Airborne Moving Target Indicator system, and this latest package pushes the company deeper into the military’s most active launch lane.
