US Air Force – Contract in the Space Launch Services Field

US Air Force – Contract in the Space Launch Services Field

space launch services

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A development in the field of space launch services. SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies) has been awarded a $96.5 million contract with the U.S. Air Force for a GPS satellite launch, once again beating out Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s joint venture, United Launch Alliance.

Spacex designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company supplies space launch services and develops manned and payload spacecraft.

According to teslarati.com, the new contract is set to take stage in 2019 when SpaceX will launch a GPS III Global Positioning Satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida for the US Air Force. It is the second contract awarded to SpaceX by the Air Force. SpaceX won an $82.7 million contract last year to launch a GPS III satellite in 2018.

According to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Defense, SpaceX will provide the Falcon 9 launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operation for support of its GPS III mission aimed at deploying high precision anti-jamming satellites.

According to defenseworld.net, the launch is intended to put the third member of the next-generation GPS satellite network into orbit. SpaceX won certification from the Air Force in 2015 to compete for military and national security space launches, breaking United Launch Alliance’s 10-year monopoly.

SpaceX was established by the entrepreneur Elon Musk with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. The company made history in 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.