The U.S. Air Force has awarded SpaceX a five-year contract to develop a method for transporting cargo and aid via rockets.
The contract, signed on January 14, was recently disclosed by AviationWeek and is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Rocket Transport Program, aimed at leveraging large commercial rockets for the global logistics of the U.S. Department of Defense.
The fully reusable Starship spacecraft is being developed by SpaceX. (Image: SpaceX).
Valued at up to $102 million, this is the largest contract awarded to date for rocket cargo, helping to accurately define what heavy-lift rockets can achieve in terms of actual capacity, speed, and the costs of the integrated system when transporting military cargo and humanitarian aid, Program Director Greg Spanjers told Space News.
The contract does not specify which of SpaceX’s launch vehicles will be used. SpaceX has undertaken numerous military missions in the past using the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, but CEO Elon Musk has stated that he views Starship as the vehicle of the future.
SpaceX will also provide cargo bay designs to facilitate the rapid loading and unloading of cargo, compatible with the U.S. TRANSCOM intermodal shipping containers.
The vision of SpaceX and AFRL is to rely on a network of spaceports around the world for launching and landing rockets. “However, many disaster-prone areas currently lack commercial spaceports, so we are exploring a range of new orbits and landing options for hard-to-reach locations, while also studying human factors when landing near populated areas and integrating more types of cargo, including medical supplies,” Spanjers added.
AFRL has not disclosed when the first flights will launch, but plans to bring additional companies into the program over time. “We will continue to work with other launch vehicle providers to consider awarding additional contracts,” Spanjers noted.
