SpaceX has been given the contract to launch the upcoming PACE mission on a Falcon 9 vehicle. PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) is a NASA Earth Sciences mission to study phytoplankton as well as clouds and aerosols in the oceans. The mission is planned for launch in December 2022. The launch contract reportedly has a value of US$80.4 million, covering the launch and other “related services”.
Additionally, SpaceX have said in a separate statement that they will be using a “flight-proven” Falcon 9 first-stage for the PACE mission.