Musk's Cheaper SpaceX Rocket Wins Second U.S. Air Force Contract
- Company beats out Boeing-Lockheed’s United Launch Alliance
- SpaceX may bid on 13 additional launches, Air Force says
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rollout.
Source: SpaceXThis article is for subscribers only.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX won its second-ever launch contract from the U.S. military by underbidding an alliance of defense industry giants.
Cost was a determining factor in awarding the $96.5 million contract to Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Claire Leon, the Air Force’s launch enterprise director, said on a conference call Wednesday. The company will launch an Air Force GPS satellite on an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket sometime in 2019.