Space Force Scrambles Over Falcon 9 Retirement as SpaceX Handles 85% of U.S. Launches
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Oct 22
Space Force Scrambles Over Falcon 9 Retirement as SpaceX Handles 85% of U.S. Launches
1 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Oct 22
Summary
Falcon 9’s planned phaseout has left the Space Force racing to protect military satellite launch schedules, with some payloads not readily compatible with SpaceX’s replacement rocket, Starship.
SpaceX carried 85% of U.S. launches in 2025, making the Pentagon heavily dependent on Elon Musk’s company at a moment when few other providers can move comparable national security payloads.
Starship is central to SpaceX’s push for a more efficient and profitable fleet, but the transition creates a near-term launch crunch because many military satellites were built around Falcon 9-era assumptions.
Competitors are still years from offering similar capacity at scale, raising the risk that delays could ripple through deployment of advanced U.S. military satellites.