A ULA Atlas V rocket carrying the USSF-8 mission for U.S. Space Force lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 on Jan. 21, 2022. Photo: United Launch Alliance

As U.S. Space Force looks for new entrants beside Blue Origin for Phase 3 of National Security Space Launch (NSSL), the service on July 19 awarded more than $1.7 billion in Phase 2 contract modifications to the Space Force’s established rocket providers — United Launch Services, LLC – a subsidiary of United Launch Alliance (ULA) — and SpaceX.

Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded United Launch about $1.1 billion for Phase 2 launches through fiscal 2027 to bring the total awarded to United Launch for Phase 2 since 2020 to $4.5 billion.

Under an umbrella worth up to $5.6 billion over the next five years for at least 30 launches, SSC made its first Phase 3, Lane 1 NSSL awards last month to United Launch, SpaceX, and Blue Origin.

The Phase 3, Lane 1 launches would last through June 2029 with an option for another five years.

Other launch providers may enter the field, beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2025–this October through December.

“As we anticipated, the pool of awardees is small this year because many companies are still maturing their launch capabilities,” Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, SSC’s program executive officer for assured access to space, said in a June 13 SSC statement. “Our strategy accounted for this by allowing on-ramp opportunities every year, and we expect increasing competition and diversity as new providers and systems complete development.”

This story was first published by Defense Daily