After a long and, at times, bitter process costing US$60 million, SpaceX has finally received certification to launch US military payloads using its Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The launch firm is now expected to bid to launch GPS satellites shortly.
The announcement is good news for SpaceX which has long wanted access to the military launch market, but spells the end of the monopoly that the Boeing/Lockheed Martin-owned ULA firm had on US military flights using its Atlas V and Delta IV rockets.
The announcement is also good news for the US taxpayer in that launch contracts are likely to be keenly bid for, while the US military also has the relief of having an alternative launch vehicle to turn to after an initial Russian then US-ban on RD-180 engines being used for Atlas V military launches.
