What US Military Just Did with to SpaceX Starship Over ULA..

Throughout Starship's development journey, most space enthusiasts have likely heard about the rocket's potential for point-to-point travel on Earth. This concept gained significant attention in the latter half of 2024, when the U.S. Air Force publicly expressed interest in acquiring Starship to leverage this capability. After a period of relative silence from the Air Force, amid SpaceX's bold testing campaigns, this government agency has now announced the first steps to take on this huge project, with Starship at its core. So, how is this project progressing? What challenges does Starship face in making this vision a reality? Let's find out on today's episode of AlphaTech. Recently, the U.S. Air Force announced that it intends to build two landing pads on a remote island in the Pacific. It wants to land rockets there as part of a test of the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program, which involves shooting rockets into space loaded down with supplies to ship stuff around the planet faster. The concept behind the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program is to enable the U.S. military to deliver supplies anywhere on the planet in 90 minutes or less. How? By launching a rocket loaded with cargo into space and then bringing it back down to Earth. And right now, only SpaceX's Starship has the capability to make this vision a reality. So far, Starship has undergone eight test flights, achieving significant milestones, while also providing valuable lessons for SpaceX to refine future launches. At this pace, it won't be long before Starship flies regularly, even becoming fully reusable by mid-next year. With that in mind, now is the perfect time for the U.S. Air Force to take its first steps in preparing for Starship's The military is pretty good at firing rockets, both into space and through the air. It's less good at making sure those things land safely. Enter Johnston Island, a small landmass in unincorporated U.S. territory that's about 700 nautical miles off the coast of Hawaii. As first noticed by Stars and Stripes, the Air Force uploaded a notice to the Federal Register on March 3rd that signaled its intent to build test platforms on the island. However, it'll take some time before they can start building. Johnston Atoll includes the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and is within the Pacific Island's Heritage Marine National Monument, the notice said. Because of that, the Pentagon will have to study the effects landing massive rockets on the island may have on the essential fish habitat, migratory birds, and other protected species. The Air Force thinks that all these studies will show that building two landing pads on the island so it can try landing rockets there will have no significant impact on the island, but it plans to make its reports public in early April. Once those reports go live, it'll allow a 30-day period for the public to comment on the proposal. That the military was working with SpaceX, alongside other industry partners, on said plans was initially revealed in 2020. Speaking to audiences at the National Defense Transportation Association's virtual fall meeting in October of that year, now-retired U.S. Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, previously commander of U.S. Transportation Command, said that the DoD's future aim was to develop a project whereby the cargo weight equivalent of a C-17 Globemaster III, roughly 85.5 tons, could be delivered anywhere in the world within an hour. Then, in 2021, the Air Force's budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 requested additional funding for a rocket cargo program. The service specifically identified Transcom with its strategic airlift mission, as well as Air Force Special Operations Command, AFSOS, special forces as possible users of the It was specified that plans for the program involved transporting payloads of up to 100 tons, including cargo and potentially personnel, via orbital or suborbital profiles to forward locations. Novel load-unload concepts would be specifically developed for these operations. In early 2022, the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded SpaceX a five-year, $102 million contract to collect flight data from the Starship rocket program in order to demonstrate technologies for point-to-point cargo and humanitarian aid transportation via Starship. The Air Force expects a full demonstration of the rocket cargo concept by 2026. However, this remains contingent on positive flight testing of Starship in the near term, alongside overcoming other significant technical obstacles. While there are potential cost-saving benefits for the U.S. military in terms of moving cargo via Starship, Mage, Jen Stephen Purdy, Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space, has previously indicated that this could eventually work out to be cheaper on a daily rate than using C-17s. Being able to deliver essential cargo quickly to austere locations is a key benefit. C-17s, for example, take roughly 18 hours to fly to any given location on Earth. Obviously, such a claim will be tagged as highly aspirational, if not outright dubious by many. Being able to rapidly deploy cargo across long distances quickly would have notable benefits in the context of the Indo-Pacific. Given that figures within the U.S. military envision a likely near-term, high-end conflict in that region involving U.S. forces, which some have stressed could commence before 2026, it is likely the sensitive and potentially dangerous missions Starship may be expected to perform could take place during a Pacific fight. Coupled with short timelines of a launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station or Vandenberg SFV to the Pacific Theater, Purdy previously said at the April 2023 Space Symposium, Starship's capacity really starts to open one's eyes to think about how can we support an Indo-PACOM fight directly with a rocket cargo type concept that comes back and lands on different islands. Other potential missions may include quickly launching satellites during a possible future war in space with a near-peer adversary such as Russia or China, which has become an increasing concern in recent years given that space is now a highly contested environment. Rapid space access for replacing lost satellites and putting new capabilities in orbit during a conflict has long been a major goal of the Pentagon. With Starship's heavy lift capabilities, it could deploy entire constellations of smaller satellites rapidly if needed as well. Independence of direct ownership would also mean the DoD would have assured access to the capability outside of the influence of corporate whims. Elon Musk shutting off some access to Starlink satellites to Ukraine due to the technology being used to support offensive operations against targets in Crimea likely remains fresh in Pentagon planners' minds. With much resting on Starship testing in the months ahead, it remains to be seen whether the U.S. military will in fact be able to fast track cargo supply via space launch rockets in the future. However, the recent comments highlight that if this does indeed become a reality, the Pentagon envisions the ownership of Starship as an important need going forward. For Starship, the U.S. military's interest marks a promising new opportunity. However, on the other side, SpaceX's Falcon 9 now officially has a competitor for national security launch contracts. Recently, the U.S. Space Force certified United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket is capable of carrying out military launch missions, positioning the company to compete with SpaceX for future contracts. Brigadier General Kristen Panzenhagen, the Space Systems Command's Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space, emphasized the significance of this development in a statement. Vulcan certification adds launch capacity, resiliency, and flexibility needed by our nation's most critical space-based systems. This certification not only strengthens the U.S. military's options, but also introduces a new dynamic to a market that SpaceX has dominated in recent years. Achieving NSSL certification is no small feat. It's a rigorous multi-year process customized to each rocket's unique design and capabilities. For Vulcan Centaur, this journey began back in 2016. Over nearly a decade, ULA and the Space Force collaborated to ensure the rocket met 52 stringent certification criteria. This included 18 subsystem design and test reviews, as well as 114 detailed audits of the spacecraft's hardware and software. Everything from propulsion systems to avionics had to pass muster. The final hurdles were two demonstration launches, the first in January 2024 and the second in October of the same year. While the initial flight went smoothly, the second mission encountered a hiccup, an anomaly with one of the Northrop Grumman-supplied solid rocket boosters. ULA CEO Tory Bruno later revealed in February 2025 that the issue stemmed from a manufacturing defect in a booster component. The subsequent investigation into this root cause delayed the Space Force's certification timeline, which had initially been slated for completion by the end of 2024. Despite the setback, the Space Force's approval arrived on March 26, 2025, marking a In a statement, Bruno celebrated the long-awaited certification, noting that it positions Vulcan Centaur to tackle the Space Force's expanding spectrum of missions. He highlighted the rocket's strengths, saying, With this green light, ULA is ready to compete head-to-head with SpaceX for a share of the military launch market. For years, ULA held a monopoly on military launches with its now-retiring Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. That changed in 2020, when SpaceX's Falcon 9 broke into the NSSL program, securing 40 percent of the missions scheduled between fiscal years 2022 and 2027, while ULA retained the remaining 60 percent. Vulcan certification ships the landscape once again, ensuring that SpaceX's Falcon Family, Falcon 9, and the heavier lift, Falcon Heavy, will no longer operate without competition. This rivalry could drive innovation and potentially lower costs for the Department of Defense, which relies on these launches for everything from reconnaissance satellites to classified payloads destined for exotic orbits. But ULA and SpaceX aren't the only players in the game. The space launch industry is witnessing a surge of new entrants eager to carve out their own niches. Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, for instance, completed its first certification flight in January 2025 and is steadily progressing toward NSSL eligibility. Further down the road, other companies are pushing their own ambitious timelines. Rocket Lab is aiming to debut its while Relativity Space is targeting a 2026 launch for its Terran R. Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace have teamed up to develop their medium-launch vehicle, also eyeing a 2026 debut. This growing field of competitors hasn't gone unnoticed by the Space Force. During a virtual Defense One conference on March 20, 2025, Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman expressed optimism about the industry's trajectory. It was only about 10 years ago when we had one provider and just a few rocket systems, he remarked. I think we're on the right trajectory. Saltzman's comments underscore a broader shift. The U.S. military is no longer reliant on a single company or a handful of aging rockets. Instead, it's cultivating a diverse ecosystem of launch providers, a move that enhances national security by reducing dependence on any one system. For SpaceX, the implications are twofold. On one hand, Starship's potential to serve military needs could bolster the company's portfolio as it seeks to expand beyond its Falcon lineup. With its massive payload capacity and reusable design, Starship is poised to handle missions that Falcon 9 can't, possibly giving SpaceX an edge in future contracts. On the other hand, Vulcan Centaur's arrival, and the looming presence of New Glenn, Neutron, and others, means SpaceX must continue to innovate to maintain its dominance. ULA, bolstered by Vulcan's advanced capabilities and its legacy of reliability, is equally motivated to reclaim its former status as the military's go-to launch provider.