SpaceX has ever won US military approval for reused Falcon boosters

A U.S. military contract with SpaceX has been amended to allow future launches aboard reused Falcon 9 boosters, saving tens of millions of dollars in the United States.

Lockheed Martin’s series of Global Positioning System III (GPS III) satellites operated by the US Space Force’s Center for Space and Missile Systems has traditionally been launched with new consumable boosters. The first two GPS III spacecraft were launched on the Falcon 9 consumable missile and the ULA Atlas V missile.

An earlier node modification was made to allow Falcon 9 boosters to launch GPS III missions for attempted landings. In June, the third GPS III vehicle was launched on the Falcon 9 of Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida. It was the first time that a booster carrying a GPS III vehicle had been recovered.

“I am proud of our partnership with SpaceX that has allowed us to successfully negotiate contract modifications for upcoming GPS III missions that will save taxpayers $ 52.7 million while preserving our unprecedented record of success,” said Dr. Walt Lauderdale, Space and Missile Systems Center Falcon Systems president. Operations Division in a statement provided by the US Space Forces’ Space and Missile Systems Center.

SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer, Gwen Shotwell, commented, “We appreciate the effort that the US Space Force invested in the assessment and are delighted that they see the benefits of the technology. Our extensive reuse experience has allowed SpaceX to continually update the fleet and save substantial valuable tax money on these launches. “.

The new modification to the GPS III Launch Services Contract allows not only to retrieve Falcon 9 boosters but also to fire on previously relocated reinforcements. However, this modification will only apply to future launches of the GPS III satellites SV05 and SV06.

The plan to launch GPS III series satellites on the reused Falcon 9s was originally scheduled to begin during the second phase of the launch services contract in 2021. The current contract with the US Space Force will end with the launch of the GPS III SV06 satellite in 2021. Contracts for the second phase are not awarded From the National Security Space Launch Program for the remaining four satellites of the Global Positioning System III (GPS III), SpaceX and ULA will bid.

Next The launch of the GPS III SV04 satellite is currently scheduled for Tuesday, September 29 From the SLC-40 it will use the new Falcon 9 booster (B1062). The new Falcon 9 performed a consistent fire health test of its nine Merlin 1D engines early this morning, Friday, September 25. Later that evening, the wrapped load was captured by a Twitter user. Muhammad Ali 88 While being transported from a nearby processing facility to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to be mated with a Falcon 9 booster.

If everything continues nominal between now and the intended launch date, the GPS III SV04 mission is scheduled to launch during a window spanning 9: 55-10: 10 PM EST on Tuesday, September 29 (0155-0210 UTC Sept.30) . The 45th Weather Squadron expects the weather to be mostly favorable with a 70% chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. If 24 hours recycling is required, the weather slightly improves to 80%.

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