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February 5, 2025
Defense Primer: National Security Space Launch Program
The U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD's) National
Security Space Launch (NSSL) program acquires
commercial launch services to deploy military and
intelligence community satellites. These satellites are used
for communications; positioning, navigation, and timing;
missile warning and tracking; and space situational
awareness, among other purposes.
Congress, in 10 U.S.C. §2273, established as U.S. policy
the need to ensure access to space by maintaining at least
two launch vehicles able to deliver any national security
payload into space. To meet that mandate, Congress
authorizes and appropriates funding for NSSL and provides
oversight for the program. Congress appropriated about
$2.1 billion for the program in FY2024. DOD requested
$1.8 billion for NSSL in FY2025, and Congress authorized
$1.7 billion for the program in the FY2025 National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (P.L. 118-159).
Potential issues for Congress include commercial
competition in NSSL and the state of military launch
infrastructure.
Nationai Secur ty Space Launch
The U.S. Space Force's (USSF's) Space Systems
Command (SSC), based at Los Angeles Air Force Base,
manages the NSSL program. DOD conducts NSSL
launches at two locations: the Eastern Range at Cape
Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and the Western
Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
NSSL has launched satellites for the U.S. Space Force, the
U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the National
Reconnaissance Office.
NSSL providers use launch vehicles capable of either
heavy-lift or medium-lift, generally defined as a payload
capacity between 20,000 and 50,000 kg or between 2,000
kg and 20,000 kg, respectively. A separate DOD program,
the Orbital Services Program, acquires small-lift launch
services, defined as a payload capacity of 2,000 kg or less.
SSC directs a flight-worthiness certification process for
potential NSSL launch providers. The certification process
includes flight demonstrations, major subsystem reviews,
and verification of payload interface requirements. The
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation's (SpaceX's)
Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are the only active certified
NSSL launch vehicles. Blue Origin and the United Launch
Alliance (ULA) are each in the process of certifying new
launch vehicles.
As outlined in 10 U.S.C. §2273, one of the goals of NSSL
is to lower the costs of national security space launches. For
acquisitions, NSSL has fostered competition between
providers to reduce costs through competitively awarded
contracts. The program also uses firm-fixed price contracts
and block buys, a DOD-specific procurement mechanism
that allows the agency to use a single contract to buy goods
or services over multiple years, rather than annual contracts.
Nationa Security Space Launch Evolution
NSSL evolved from an earlier Air Force program, the
Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. In
August 1994, the Clinton Administration issued the
National Space Transportation Policy (NSTC-4), which
tasked DOD with the improvement and evolution of the
current U.S. [heavy- and medium-lift] expendable launch
vehicle (ELV) fleet. The Fiscal Year 2004 NDAA (P.L.
108-136 §2273) subsequently codified this policy in statute
(10 U.S.C. §2273).
In fulfillment of NSTC-4, the Air Force established the
EELV program in 1994. Initially, two companies competed
for EELV contracts: Boeing, which produced the Delta IV
launch vehicle, and Lockheed Martin, which produced the
Atlas V. During the initial phase of the EELV program, the
Air Force used nonrecurring, firm-fixed price contracts,
with the commercial providers covering any additional
costs. The Air Force amended its contracting approach in
2005, citing rising costs incurred by the commercial
partners. The Air Force began instituting cost-plus contracts
to support launch capabilities and infrastructure, while still
issuing firm-fixed price contracts for launch services. In
2006, Boeing and Lockheed Martin formed a joint venture,
United Launch Alliance (ULA), which became the sole
provider for EELV launch services in 2006.
In 2013, the Air Force shifted to a block buy approach,
saying this would save money and provide predictability for
industry. The subsequent sole-source contracts awarded to
ULA are considered Phase 1 of the amended EELV
program. After Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine,
Congress prohibited contracting with Russian suppliers of
rocket engines for EELV and directed that DOD create a
development program for new U.S.-made rocket engines
(P.L. 113-291, §§1604 and 1608). This program later
formed the basis of future ULA and Blue Origin launch
vehicles. In 2016, the Air Force shifted to competitively
awarded EELV contracts, known as Phase 1A. Under Phase
1A, SpaceX won a firm-fixed price launch services contract
in April 2016 for the use of expendable Falcon 9 rockets.
In 2018, DOD issued three Launch Service Agreements,
which were other transaction (OT) agreements to facilitate
development of ... launch system prototypes, to foster
future competition. The Air Force awarded these
agreements to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, and ULA
in preparation for Phase 2. The FY2019 NDAA (P.L. 115-](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govesjs0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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