The Art of the StealA project of the Save America Movement
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★ Government Action

Space Force awards $13.7B in launch contracts; SpaceX and Blue Origin take the bulk

Elon Musk / DOGE Conflicts

Filed April 2025$13,700,000,000

★ The Brief

What happened

On April 4, 2025, the U.S. Space Force awarded about $13.7 billion in National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 2 contracts: SpaceX took the largest share (~60%, 28 missions), with United Launch Alliance (19 missions) and Blue Origin (7 missions) splitting the rest. The contracts are competitively awarded.

Who enabled it

U.S. Space Force

Who benefits

Elon MuskJeff BezosBlue OriginSpaceX

Deal or steal?

SpaceX won the biggest slice of a $13.7 billion launch contract — a competitive award reflecting its dominance as a launcher. The same relationship cut both ways: after Musk and Trump fell out, the White House was reported to order a review of those contracts. Musk holds more than $22 billion in federal contracts and gave $249 million to elect Trump. The other winner, Blue Origin, was founded by Jeff Bezos, whose Amazon gave $1 million to Trump's inaugural and whose studio paid the Trump family a reported $40 million for a Melania documentary.

★ Cast your vote

On April 4, 2025, the U.S. Space Force awarded National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 2 contracts worth approximately $13.7 billion, covering an anticipated 54 launches over five years. SpaceX received the largest share — about 60 percent, or 28 missions — followed by United Launch Alliance (40 percent, 19 missions) and Blue Origin (7 missions). The awards are competitively bid and reflect SpaceX's standing as the dominant U.S. launch provider; they are a measure of the scale of federal money flowing to the launch companies of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos rather than evidence of a rigged procurement. The same federal-contract relationship also gives the president leverage over a major donor: after Musk and Trump fell out publicly in mid-2025, the White House was reported to have directed the Pentagon and NASA to review SpaceX's federal contracts.

Sources

Further reading