By
Svetlana Soroka
April 18th, 2024
Under the SDA contract, SpaceX will use its Starlink assembly plant in Redmond, Washington, to build four satellites fitted with a wide-angle infrared missile-tracking sensor supplied by a subcontractor.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp, alias SpaceX, headed by the ambitious engineer Elon Musk has been awarded a $149 million contract by the Pentagon to further strengthen its space military operations.
According to the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA), SpaceX will develop missile tracking-satellites for the Pentagon.
Under the SDA contract, SpaceX will use its Starlink assembly plant in Redmond, Washington, to build four satellites fitted with a wide-angle infrared missile-tracking sensor supplied by a subcontractor.
SpaceX and Pentagon Space Exploration Program
SpaceX has been collaborating with government agencies to launch its programs and further its mission to land on Mars and Moon.
The ambitious plan has rejuvenated the American space dream after years of dormancy. This comes at a time when the United States is competing with other space global superpowers like Russia, and China to control the Earth’s space.
Recently, China stated that it has successfully tested a “reusable spacecraft”, widely believed to be a spaceplane that could enable frequent and low-cost access to space.
Xinhua News Agency stated:
“The successful flight marked the country’s important breakthrough in reusable spacecraft research and is expected to offer convenient and low-cost round trip transport for the peaceful use of the space.”
The high competition has pushed both countries to make humanity multi-planetary amid increasing pandemics that continue to threaten us.
SpaceX has been in close partnership with the United States military since its inception as it builds capacity to space exploration.
Back in 2019, the company received $28 million from the Air Force to use the fledgling Starlink satellite network to test encrypted internet services with a number of military planes, though the Air Force has not ordered any Starlink satellites of its own.
Earlier this month, the United States Space Force indicated that it will launch two GPS navigation satellites on reused Falcon 9 boosters next year through a restructured contract with SpaceX that saved taxpayers $52 million.
“SMC’s commitment to innovative partnerships and working with the commercial sector while maintaining our mission assurance posture and mission-success record cannot be understated,” said Walter Lauderdale, chief of SMC’s Falcon Systems and Operations Division in a Space Force statement. “I am proud of our partnership with SpaceX that allowed us to successfully negotiate contract modifications for the upcoming GPS 3 missions that will save taxpayers $52.7 million while maintaining our unprecedented record of success.”
The complexity of the space exploration program has made SpaceX a vital private company in the United States. Having partnered with NASA to launch its commercial space flights, the company is set to become one of the global leaders in space exploration industry.