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DoD Looks for Launch Alternatives, as Launch Emerges As ‘Long Lead Item’

Frank Wolfe Frank Wolfe
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DoD Looks for Launch Alternatives, as Launch Emerges As ‘Long Lead Item’
3D render of planet Earth viewed from space, with night lights in Europe and sun rising over Asia. Blue hue treatment. Elements from NASA (https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/57000/57752/land_shallow_topo_2048.jpg)

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is examining launch sites in Australia, Spain, Scotland, and French Guyana, as DoD searches for launch companies that can offer alternatives to SpaceX. The latter's manifests are full two years from launch, as SpaceX is the only DoD-certified launch provider. "What's going on from the launch perspective is driven by economics, " Frank Backes, CEO of Capella Space, said during a space industrial base panel discussion at the SATELLITE 2025 conference in Washington, D.C., on…

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