updates
Space Force agrees to fly used boosters on GPS
On September 25, 2020, SpaceX said the Space Force would let it recover and later refly boosters on GPS missions, and restated its NSSL Phase 2 selection.
Topics: space-civilization
This page is an original Muskularity summary. It does not republish SpaceX’s full post. Figures are the company’s statements on the cited date unless another primary link is named.
Summary
Ahead of a GPS III-4 launch, SpaceX said the Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center had agreed that the company could recover the first stage and, for the first time on a National Security Space Launch mission, fly previously flown boosters on later GPS flights. SpaceX also pointed to its selection to fly NSSL missions ordered over the next five years, building on Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office work. It said the Falcon fleet had NSSL certification and 95 orbital missions combined. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy were described as able to fly every required national-security orbit.
Investment figures are company claims: more than a billion dollars of SpaceX money in the Falcon fleet, ground systems, factories, and mission assurance, and billions saved by the Air Force after competition returned. The “highest possible rating” for capability, schedule, and risk is SpaceX’s description of the government’s evaluation, and the post links Air Force news articles for the Phase 2 award. Use those articles for the award itself.
Key facts
| Fact | Label |
|---|---|
| First agreement, as SpaceX stated it, to refly boosters on GPS national-security missions | Company account of a Space Force agreement |
| 95 combined orbital missions cited for the certified Falcon fleet | Company tally |
| More than $1 billion of company investment claimed in Falcon and ground systems | Company investment claim |
Why it matters
National-security customers accepting a flown booster is a different milestone from landing one. It sits next to the 100th flight tally as the point where reuse moved into the GPS manifest, on SpaceX’s telling.
On this site
Sources
- SpaceX update, September 25, 2020 — Grade A, company post
- Space Force SMC article linked by SpaceX — Grade A, U.S. Space Force
- Air Force Phase 2 award article linked by SpaceX — Grade A, U.S. Air Force
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