U.S. Space Force expands launch provider pool to seven companies

The U.S. Space Force announced on July 7, 2026 that Impulse Space and Relativity Federal have been added to the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 contract pool, bringing the total number of eligible launch providers to seven. The firms join SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab and Stoke Space under a multi‑award IDIQ arrangement with a cumulative ceiling of $5.6 billion; each new provider received an initial $5 million fixed‑price task order for capability assessments.

Colonel Eric Zarybnisky, acting Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Access, said the expansion “is exactly the kind of result we envisioned” to improve resiliency and responsiveness of the military’s orbital launch capability. Impulse Space’s award covers its Helios high‑energy upper‑stage vehicle for rapid transfer to geosynchronous orbit, while Relativity Federal will develop its reusable Terran R rocket, scheduled for a first launch from Cape Canaveral later this year. The contracts support the Space Force’s $15.6 billion annual space acquisition program, the service’s largest procurement activity.