SpaceX Receives Permission To Launch American Spy Satellites
US private space company SpaceX has been certified by the Pentagon Space Force to launch top-secret spy satellites on a Falcon Heavy rocket. This will allow Elon Musk’s company to gain a temporary advantage over the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture, which had a monopoly on launching US Department of Defense satellites.
In general, SpaceX has previously launched American spy satellites into orbit using the Falcon 9 rocket, but its capabilities are not enough to launch heavy satellites into orbit. Approval was received in June, but it became known about it only now. The first launch of the Falcon Heavy is expected between October and December – SpaceX will deliver a National Reconnaissance Agency satellite into orbit.
As noted, the use of Falcon Heavy not only brings SpaceX closer to the state customer, but also saves federal budget funds through the use of reusable boosters. The US Space Force has already calculated that the use of reusable Falcon 9 rockets has saved more than $64 million on GPS satellite launch missions.
