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posted by martyb on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:54AM   Printer-friendly
from the good-and-fast-so-not-cheap dept.

SpaceX signs a deal to rocket military cargo around the world:

The US Air Force is enlisting Elon Musk's help in developing a way to deliver military supplies and humanitarian aid via SpaceX rockets.

The company has signed a contract with the US Department of Defense worth over $102 million to provide point-to-point transit for cargo via space.

[...] The contract, awarded Friday, falls under the Air Force Research Laboratory's rocket cargo program, which aims to take advantage of the falling price of heavy launch capabilities that SpaceX and other companies have brought to the market in recent years.

Program manager Greg Spanjers told SpaceNews earlier this week that the military is "very interested in the ability to deliver the cargo anywhere on Earth to support humanitarian aid and disaster relief."

The contract doesn't specify which SpaceX rocket or vehicle the initiative will utilize. SpaceX has used its Falcon 9 rocket and Falcon Heavy (which is made up of three Falcon 9 boosters) for military missions in the past, but Musk has made clear that he views Starship as the vehicle of the future.


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:40PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:40PM (#1214833) Journal

    Depends on where they want to land these things. They won't be going to Afghanistan anymore.

    For the refuel, they might be able to get away with very little in the tanks. They can send it back with no cargo and it's not reaching orbit.

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