The Space Force is now seeking to buy up to $30 billion in rocket launches

The US Space Force is significantly expanding its military satellite launch budget. Ars Technica reports that officials announced on Friday they're tripling the maximum value of the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 contract—from five point six billion dollars to seventeen billion dollars. The NSSL program lets Space Systems Command select from a pool of launch providers for individual missions, with two tiers: Lane 1 handles the higher-risk work, like experimental medium-lift launches and rideshare missions carrying Pentagon surveillance and data relay satellites. Lane 2 covers strategic priorities—the military's largest and most expensive spy satellites, and radiation-hardened communications satellites designed to survive nuclear war. The expansion reflects rising Pentagon demand for reliable access to orbit.

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