SpaceX has secured $739 million in new U.S. military launch contracts to support missile warning and tracking missions, reinforcing the company’s role in America’s national security space architecture.
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) said on Friday that the contracts were awarded under National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 task orders, covering nine launches for the Space Development Agency (SDA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
Under the SDA-2 task order, SpaceX will carry out three launches starting in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026. Those missions will deploy 18 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites built by L3Harris, alongside eight Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-warfighter (F2) satellites developed by Millennium Space Systems.
Additional work was awarded through the SDA-3 task order, which includes two SpaceX launches beginning in the third quarter of fiscal year 2027 to deploy a further 18 Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites manufactured by Lockheed Martin. SpaceX also won the NTO-5 task order for an NRO mission set, with launches planned for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 and the second quarter of fiscal year 2028.
“Our mission to deliver national defense capabilities to the joint force is achieved with each task order we award,” said U.S. Space Force Colonel Matt Flahive, system program director for Launch Acquisition. “The task orders awarded in support of our mission partners, SDA and NRO, demonstrate the importance we have placed on being time efficient and cost conscious in our Phase 3 Lane 1 approach to reliably deliver space capability to the warfighter quicker and at the best value to the American taxpayer.”
The latest awards extend SpaceX’s strong position in the U.S. national security launch market. The company won all of the contracts available in this round, while competing providers secured none. In late 2025, SpaceX also won a separate Pentagon launch contract valued at $714 million.
The contracts come amid heightened focus on space-based missile warning and tracking systems as a core element of U.S. defence strategy. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, has become a central launch provider for the Department of Defense, even as past policy debates considered whether to scale back some federal contracts with the company.
