Space Force Awards Two California-based Companies New Launch Provider Contracts
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – The U.S. Space Force awarded two companies, Impulse Space and Relativity Federal, its latest space launch provider contracts Wednesday.
The latest launch providers join Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) which were awarded contracts in fiscal year 2024 as well as Rocket Lab and Stoke Space which were on-ramped in fiscal year 2025, noted the U.S. Space Force in a press release Wednesday.
Officially, the companies were awarded Firm Fixed-Price, Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity, National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 contracts by the acting Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Access stated the U.S. Space Force.
"These new awardees, together with the other providers already on the Lane 1 contract, are building the next generation of launch vehicles. This is critical at a time when our launch cadence is rapidly increasing and our customers are relying on us to deliver everything they need to provide for the security of our nation and allies," said U.S. Space Force Colonel Eric Zarybnisky, the acting Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Access. "Today's awards create new partnerships that further expand our industrial base; improving our resiliency and responsiveness so that we can reliably deliver critical defense capabilities on orbit for the security of our nation."
The NSSL Phase 3 program uses a dual-lane model to award contracts based on customer needs shared the federal agency.
Lane 1 contracts are for launch services for more risk-tolerant missions on behalf of Space Systems Command.
"The increase to seven providers in the third year of our NSSL Lane 1 contract is exactly the kind of result we envisioned when we developed our dual-lane strategy to address the changing needs of our customers," added Colonel Zarybnisky. "We have numerous upcoming missions that the Lane 1 launch providers will be able to compete for as soon as they’ve successfully launched at least once."
Each of the awardees will receive a $5 million Task Order to perform an initial capabilities assessment of their respective platforms and develop their internal approach to unique mission parameters explained the U.S. Space Force.
For Redondo Beach-based Impulse Space, the contract is for its high-energy upper stage Helios vehicle which transports payloads from a low-Earth orbit into high-energy orbits, such as a Geosynchronous Orbit, in less than one day the company noted on the company's website.
"This award is a big validation of the capabilities we're delivering at Impulse, and we're honored to support national security objectives for our country," shared Eric Romo, President and Chief Operating Officer of Impulse Space. "Pairing Helios with a standard medium-lift launch vehicle offers a more operationally flexible and cost-effective path to high-energy orbits than other solutions. We look forward to providing a new option for assured access to space for the Space Force."
Relativity Federal, based out of Long Beach, has developed a two-stage, reusable rocket known as the Terran R.
The 284 foot tall, 17.7 foot wide Terran R rocket is built with high-strength aluminum alloys and designed to serve the low-Earth orbit constellation market the company detailed.
The image shown below compares the size of Terran R to other existing low-Earth orbit launch vehicles.
Currently, the launch platform is scheduled to conduct is first launch from Launch Complex 16 at Cap Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida later this year.
The entire $15.6 billion annual space acquisition program is the single largest procurement activity at the U.S. Space Force which receives its funding through the Department of Defense's annual budget.
