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SpaceX Cleared For US Military Launches

Posted by Soulskill on from the low-earth-orbit-needs-more-lasers dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The U.S. Air Force has given private rocket company SpaceX clearance to launch military satellites into orbit. This disrupts the lock that Boeing and Lockheed Martin have had on military launches for almost a decade. SpaceX will get its first opportunity to bid for such launches in June, when the Air Force posts a contract to launch GPS satellites.

2 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Time to buy some SpaceX stocks....oh wait... by Eloking · · Score: 3, Informative

    Good news for them. If there's a sector where Aerospace with a huge margin (if not the only one), it's in the military. Look like SpaceX is entering the major league.

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    Elok
  2. Context by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 3, Informative

    This ends a situation in which two companies that would otherwise have been competitive bidders decided that it would cost them less to be a monopoly, and created their own cartel. Since they were a sole provider, they persuaded the government to pay them a Billion dollars a year simply so that they would retain the capability to manufacture rockets to government requirements.

    Yes, there will be at least that Billion in savings and SpaceX so far seems more than competitive with the prices United Launch Alliance was charging. There will be other bidders eventually, as well.

    --
    Bruce Perens.