Friday, April 4, 2014

SpaceX Set To Get Chance At Military Satellite Launches

Hawthorne-based SpaceX, the commercial rocket company headed by tech mogul Elon Musk, is set to get a chance to bid on launch contracts for the Department of Defense, according to Gen. William Shelton, commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command. Shelton said in a congressional hearing this week that SpaceX is expected to gain a chance to launch smaller military payloads sometime next year, according to the WSJ. SpaceX has been lobbying to get a chance to launch the United States' military and intelligence contracts, in competition with the United Launch Alliance, as tensions have been rising with Russia. Russia is a major provider of Atlast 5 rockets for the United Launch Alliance, which currently has a near total monopoly on U.S. military launches.

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