SpaceX wins a rocket contract to transport both military cargo and humanitarian aid in times of disaster in a $102 million agreement with the United States Air Force.
Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp, speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) and Tesla Motors, held the news conference to announce SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket which could complete missions to the International Space Station and Moon and should be ready for use by the end of 2012.
SpaceX Wins Rocket Contract
As per a news story by Space News, SpaceX will be working with the US Air Force to transport military supplies and humanitarian relief aid in various parts of the world by using a heavy rocket.
The contract was awarded to SpaceX back on Jan. 14, but the US Air Force did not announce it publicly.
The contract that the US Air Force awarded to SpaceX is part of its rocket cargo program that specifically looks into the use of private heavy rockets as parts of the logistics of the Department of Defense.
The news outlet further noted that the five-year agreement between SpaceX and the Air Force is monumentally the largest contract for a rocket cargo as of now.
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Transport Military Cargo, Humanitarian Aid Across the Globe
The rocket cargo program manager of the US Air Force, Greg Spanjers, declared in a statement that the new partnership with SpaceX further examines the capabilities of a rocket in cargo transport.
A mock up of the Crew Dragon spacecraft is displayed during a media tour of SpaceX headquarters and rocket factory on August 13, 2018 in Hawthorne, California. - SpaceX plans to use the spaceship Crew Dragon, a passenger version of the robotic Dragon cargo ship, to carry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in 2019.
The program would like to determine its "true capacity, speed, and cost of the integrated system."
It is worth noting, though, that the contract did not specifically identify which of the SpaceX spacecraft would be used for the rocket cargo program, according to a report by Space.com.
However, the $102 million worth of agreement gives the Air Force Research Laboratory access to the commercial orbital launches of the space exploration firm of billionaire Elon Musk.
On top of that, the contract also states that SpaceX should provide a demonstration of both the transport and landing of its heavy cargo.
What's more, the space firm is also tasked to provide various designs for cargo bays that would be compatible with the intermodal containers of the United States Transcom.
The manager of the program also said that the Air Force would continue to study and collect data from the future relevant mission of SpaceX.
Meanwhile, the program manager clarified that while SpaceX bags the initial contract, the US Air Force is also looking to work with other firms as the program progresses.
Spanjers added in a statement that the Air Force will "continue to talk to other launch vehicle providers," noting that they "will consider awarding additional contracts later in the program."
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Written by Teejay Boris
