The headquarters of Space Systems Command in Los Angeles, California.
US Space Force / José Lou Hernandez
The U.S. military is preparing to buy another round of rocket launches from companies next year, and Space Force leaders have said they’re taking a new “mutual fund approach” to strategy. ‘acquisition.
“Instead of choosing one action, we’re choosing two different approaches because we thought it would allow the government to pivot,” said Colonel Chad Melone, head of the Launch Procurement & Integration division at US Space Systems Command. SpaceForce. a press conference on Friday.
Earlier this month, the Space Force began the process of purchasing five years of launches, under a lucrative program known as National Security Space Launch Phase 3. In 2020, the second phase of NSSL has awarded contracts to two companies – Elon Musk’s SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Boeing And Lockheed Martin – for about 40 military missions, worth about $1 billion a year.
Source: Space X; Huber Red | Orlando Sentinel | TNS | Getty Images
But, with a number of companies bringing rockets to market, Space Force splits NSSL Phase 3 into two groups for about 70 launches. Track 1 is the new approach, about 30 missions with lower requirements and a more flexible bidding process that allows companies to compete for rocket launches in years to come. Path 2 represents the legacy approach, with Space Force planning to select two companies for approximately 40 missions that have the most demanding requirements.
“Several factors have strongly influenced our strategy, including the ever-growing market for commercial launches, [and] the over 50% increase in national security space missions over what we had in Phase 2,” Col. Doug Pentecost, deputy program director for Space Systems Command, told reporters.
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The Space Force leadership has named several companies that can now compete in the dual-track process, including rocket lab, Relativity and Space ABL. Pentecost also noted that “a few months ago” Space Systems Command signed a certification plan with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin for its New Glenn rocket, with the company aiming to prove it can perform security missions. nationally after three launches.
Pentecost highlighted the cost savings behind the competitive approach to purchase launches. For the most powerful rockets, Pentecost said SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and ULA’s Vulcan rockets are “about half the cost” of what the Delta IV Heavy rockets cost the previous decade, savings of “nearly 50 %” so the military can get “the biggest satellites into space.”
“We’re saving a ton of money on the high end, while still managing to use marketed prices on the low end,” Pentecost said.
In addition, Space Force is closely monitoring the growing demand for commercial launches. Melone said non-military satellite missions would have to be “extremely high” from current projections to limit Space Force plans, either by launch range availability or company production capacity.
Already, companies are achieving unprecedented annual launch rates. Space Force projects its eastern range in Florida will see 92 launches in 2023, up from 57 in 2022, and its western range in California will have 42 launches in 2023, up from 19.
