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SpaceX recently concluded a $ 130 million contract with US Airforce, according to the agreement, in the year 2020, SpaceX will launch their space – ranked satellite through their most advanced Falcon Heavy Rocket. .
The US Airforce satellite calls AFSPC-52 and all the details about it have been kept confidential.
With this new contract, SpaceX beat United Launch Alliance in their bid to secure this military contract, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, United Launch Alliance had offered their heavy Delta 4 rocket for the same contract.
"SpaceX is honored by the Air Force's selection of Falcon Heavy to launch the award-winning AFSPC-52 mission," said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President and CEO of SpaceX, in a statement. SpaceNews. "I want to thank the Air Force for the certification of Falcon Heavy, which has awarded us this mission of crucial importance, and for their confidence in our company." SpaceX is pleased to continue to provide US taxpayers with the most cost-effective and reliable launch services for vital national space security missions. "
One of the main reasons why SpaceX won this contract is the cost factor; SpaceX rocket parts are designed so that they can be reused for other launches, placing SpaceX in an advantageous position compared to all other competitors.
SpaceX rockets can carry more payloads, and their launch services cost less than half of what other companies offer.
Just for information, Falcon Heavy is the largest rocket that has been built so far and it can carry more than twice the payload compared to any other rocket that has already been built by another private company or government agency.
Lieutenant-General John Thompson, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center, said Thursday that the launch of Space X "fulfills the mission of providing resilient and affordable space capabilities to our nation while maintaining guaranteed access to # 39; space. "
According to information provided by Spacenews, the average cost of Delta 4 launches is approximately $ 350 million, which is nearly double the agreement between SpaceX and US Airforce.
As NASA is still far from developing its own rocket, US government agencies must rely on other private and government contractors for its satellite launches.
However, it was not easy for SpaceX to obtain military certification for their Falcon Heavy Rocket; they had to spend about $ 60 million and two years in a lawsuit against the US Air Force.
The company abandoned his lawsuit only a few months before the certification was granted.
Although SpaceX had some setbacks and even faced two failed Falcon 9 Rockets missions, they still managed to secure many USAF contracts.
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