COLORADO SPRINGS — The U.S. Space Systems Command has assigned the first nine National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions under the Phase 3 Lane 2 contracts, with SpaceX capturing seven launches worth $845.8 million and United Launch Alliance (ULA) securing two missions valued at $427.6 million.
The allocations represent the fiscal year 2025 portion of the five-year contracts announced on April 4, which will distribute approximately 54 missions worth $13.7 billion among SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin through fiscal year 2029.
The Space Systems Command said April 7 that SpaceX’s seven awarded missions include three for the National Reconnaissance Office (NROL-96, NROL-97, NROL-157) and four for the U.S. Space Force (USSF-186, USSF-234, USSF-174, and USSF-15/GPS IIIF).
ULA received contracts for two Space Force missions: USSF-50/NGG-2, the second Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared GEO missile-warning satellite, and USSF-49/GPS IIIF-2, the second GPS III Follow-on mission.
Industry sources told SpaceNews that the original split of the fiscal year 2025 launches was 5/4 rather than 7/2. ULA had originally been assigned the NROL-96 and NROL-157 missions but lost them to SpaceX due to ongoing construction and upgrades at ULA’s West Coast launch facility for its Vulcan rocket. Both missions require launches into lower energy orbits from the Western Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Blue Origin, the third provider under the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2 contract, will have its first opportunity to secure a mission in fiscal year 2026, according to the Space Systems Command.
The Phase 3 contract structure represents the Defense Department’s strategy to maintain multiple launch providers for national security payloads while fostering competition in the space launch sector.
