The U. S.
Space Force awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract on July 29, 2026, for 18 Falcon 9 launches through 2027, even as the company's stock fell 3.32 percent to close at $112.55.
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The two new task orders fall under the Space Force's National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 program.
They cover missions launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The rockets will deploy satellites for the military's Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, designed to track and detect airborne threats in near real time.
The latest order brings SpaceX's Pentagon contract total to at least $7 billion in 2026, driven by funding tied to the Trump administration's $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
In May, SpaceX secured $6.5 billion in military satellite awards, including $4.16 billion for an airborne target indicator system and $2.29 billion for communications network satellites.
The Space Force completed the procurement in approximately two months to accelerate national security deployments.
"This is an unprecedented two-month acquisition timeline," said Eric Zarybnisky, acting portfolio acquisition executive for space access at the U.
S. Space Force.
The awards follow the Space Force raising its Phase 3 Lane 1 contract ceiling from $5.6 billion to $17 billion earlier in the month to accommodate expanding launch requirements.
Executing the 18 missions by 2027 will require an operational pace averaging roughly one launch per month from Vandenberg.
SpaceX continues to dominate military launch procurement as rivals face operational delays.
