The Air Force awarded Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle- (EELV) class missions, according to a company statement.
The missions awarded are Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) and Space Test Program-2 (STP-2), which will be launched on SpaceX’s Falcon launch vehicles in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The awards are the first EELV-class missions awarded to the company.
“SpaceX deeply appreciates, and is honored by, the vote of confidence shown by the Air Force in our Falcon launch vehicles,” SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk said in a statement. “We look forward to providing high reliability access to space with lift capability to orbit that is substantially greater than any other launch vehicle in the world.”
The DSCOVR mission will be launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and is currently slated for late 2014 while STP-2 will be launched aboard the Falcon Heavy rocket and is targeted for mid-2015. Both are expected to launch from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla.
Both missions fall under Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 (OSP-3), an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract for the Air Force Rocket Systems Launch Program. OSP-3 represents the first Air Force contract designed to provide new entrants to the EELV program an opportunity to demonstrate their vehicle capabilities.
The two missions will support the EELV certification process for both the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Falcon Heavy, which the company calls the most powerful rocket in the world, is expected to take its first flight in the second half of 2013.
Orbital Sciences [ORB] spokesman Barron Beneski said Dec. 5 the company bid on DSCOVR but did not bid on STP-2 because it was beyond the performance range for Antares, Orbital’s medium-class launch vehicle.