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The US Space Force just confirmed what everyone already knew - SpaceX is the only reliable ride to orbit.
This realization cost the military something they can't buy back: time.
ULA's (a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin) Vulcan rocket has been grounded twice in 18 months for the exact same problem: solid rocket booster nozzles literally burning through mid-flight.
Here is what's happening now:
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→ 4 GPS satellite launches already swapped from Vulcan to Falcon 9,
→ The latest swapped GPS satellite is literally launching on a Falcon 9 TOMORROW,
→ Space Force 3-star general: Vulcan failures "absolutely" shape future contracts.
ULA has a backlog of 70 launches and has only flown 4 times since January 2024.
SpaceX flies more rockets in a single week than ULA flies in a year.
For political reasons, the government threw billions at ULA to keep them alive even when they know they can't do it, wasting time and taxpayer money on an unproven rocket instead of fully backing the clear winner SpaceX.
They handed the lion's share of the money and missions to ULA's unproven "paper rocket" just to prop up the old guard.
They bet on expendable rockets from the old guard, and it backfired.
You simply can't afford that mistake in a reusable world.