US Space Force gives 5 of 7 national security launches for 2026 to SpaceX

ISTANBUL

The US Space Force handed SpaceX five of seven national security launch missions for fiscal 2026, cementing the company’s dominance in the Pentagon’s most demanding spaceflight program.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) will fly the other two missions. Blue Origin, still waiting for its New Glenn rocket to clear certification, was again shut out and is unlikely to fly a US national security payload before fiscal 2027, Space Systems Command said Friday.

The latest assignments are part of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 2 contract -- a multi-billion-dollar deal covering the military’s most complex launches through 2029.

SpaceX’s $714 million haul includes the USSF-206 flight with Boeing’s 12th Wideband Global Satcom satellite, three classified Space Force payloads and the NROL-86 reconnaissance mission.

ULA secured $428 million for two flights: USSF-88 carrying a GPS III Follow-on satellite and the NROL-88 spy payload.

Blue Origin was picked last year to compete in Phase 3 alongside SpaceX and ULA but has yet to fly New Glenn. A NASA Mars mission this fall is expected to advance its certification, with the first national security launch opportunity projected for fiscal 2027.

The Phase 3 Lane 2 program is valued at about $13.7 billion for roughly 54 missions between fiscal 2025 and 2029. Actual launches are scheduled from 2027 to 2032 to give companies about two years to integrate and prepare payloads.