WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force has designated SpaceX to carry out five of the seven national security missions budgeted for in fiscal year 2026, continuing the company's strong position in the Pentagon's most critical launch program. United Launch Alliance (ULA) will handle the remaining two missions, while Blue Origin — whose New Glenn rocket is still awaiting certification — will need to wait until at least fiscal year 2027 for its initial assignment, the Space Systems Command announced on Oct. 3. These awards are the second set of launch assignments under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 2 contract, which encompasses the Space Force’s most demanding missions through fiscal year 2029. SpaceX's newly assigned missions include USSF-206, which will carry the 12th Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) communications satellite built by Boeing, as well as three classified Space Force payloads — USSF-155, USSF-149, and USSF-63 — and NROL-86 for the National Reconnaissance Office. The five missions are valued at a combined $714 million, according to Space Systems Command. ULA, on the other hand, secured USSF-88, which will carry the fourth GPS III Follow-on (GPS IIIF) satellite, and NROL-88, another reconnaissance payload. These two launches are valued at $428 million. This follows the initial set of awards for fiscal 2025 announced in April, where SpaceX won seven of nine missions worth $845.8 million, while ULA received two valued at $427.6 million. Blue Origin joined SpaceX and ULA as one of three providers selected for NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2 in April 2025, but it did not receive any missions this year. The company’s New Glenn rocket has not yet finished its certification process for national security launches. Its upcoming flight — a NASA Mars mission scheduled for later this fall — is intended to push forward that effort. “No missions were assigned to the third provider, Blue Origin, which has its next opportunity for a mission in FY27,” Space Systems Command stated. The NSSL Phase 3 program has a budget of $13.7 billion for approximately 54 missions between fiscal years 2025 and 2029. Launch assignments are expected to occur between fiscal years 2027 and 2032, allowing roughly two years of lead time for mission integration. Phase 3 implemented a dual-lane contracting strategy. Lane 1 is intended for less complex, commercial-style missions to encourage competition and bring in new participants. Lane 2, which includes these latest assignments, covers high-priority, high-reliability national security launches. Within the Lane 2 framework, SpaceX acts as the Requirement 1 provider, anticipated to receive around 60% of missions (approximately 28 in total). ULA is the Requirement 2 provider, with roughly 19 missions expected. Blue Origin, as Requirement 3, is eligible for up to seven missions.