The award covers 18 Falcon 9 missions through the end of 2027 and arrived days before earnings showed the Space segment still lagging Starlink and the company's AI push.
SpaceX secured a $1.6 billion U.S. Space Force contract on July 29 through two National Security Space Launch (U.S. military launch procurement program) Phase 3 Lane 1 task orders covering 18 Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg Space Force Base through the end of 2027. The launches will support the Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, adding sensing and near-real-time targeting capabilities for the Joint Force. The award came six days before SpaceX filed its first earnings report as a public company since its June IPO, showing the Space segment generated $1.581 billion in revenue in the six months ended June 30, 2026 and posted a $542 million operating loss as Starship R&D spending accelerated. At roughly $19 million more than the division's entire first-half revenue, or about 1.2%, the contract underlines how the launch business has been overtaken internally by Starlink's growth and the company's expanding AI ambitions. SPCX shares were down 11.09% at $111.43 in premarket trading Wednesday and were at new lows, according to Benzinga Pro.