SpaceX has secured a major $1.6 billion military contract for 18 Falcon 9 launches while simultaneously achieving a historic milestone with Starship 40, which remains floating intact in the Indian Ocean days after its soft splashdown landing. The dual developments underscore the company's growing dominance in both military space operations and next-generation rocket reusability.

What Does SpaceX's New Military Contract Cover?

The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX two task orders totaling $1.6 billion for 18 Falcon 9 launches to support the Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, a critical military surveillance and targeting system. All launches will lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with completion expected by the end of 2027. The awards were made under the competitive National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 program, demonstrating that SpaceX continues to win against other launch providers in head-to-head military competitions.

"The rapid acquisition capabilities provided by our NSSL Phase 3 dual-lane approach allows us the flexibility to deliver satellites for our warfighters in an increasingly efficient manner," said Space Force Col. Eric Zarybnisky, acting portfolio acquisition executive for Space Access.

Space Force Col. Eric Zarybnisky, Acting Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Access

This contract reinforces the Falcon 9's role as the workhorse of American military space operations. Earlier in the same week, Rocket Lab also secured a $266 million multi-launch contract with the U.S. Space Force for 12 suborbital launches with up to six additional launches, showing robust demand across the launch industry for national security missions.

Why Is Starship 40 Still Floating After Its Ocean Landing?

SpaceX's Starship 40 upper stage achieved what engineers call a "soft splashdown landing" in the Indian Ocean on July 24 after Flight 13 launched from Starbase in Texas. More than 100 hours after impact, the 52-meter-tall (171-foot) spacecraft remained floating on the ocean surface, a remarkable outcome that surprised even SpaceX observers. The upper stage is a massive structure, standing as tall as a 16-story building and weighing approximately 100 tons, yet it stayed completely intact during both the landing and its extended time in the water.

The reason Starship 40 floats is straightforward: the spacecraft is mostly hollow, with steel walls and approximately 18,000 heat-shield tiles. Its six Raptor 3 engines and internal structure provide enough buoyancy to keep it afloat. The landing burn and engine cutoff sequence worked flawlessly, resulting in a controlled descent that preserved the entire vehicle. This contrasts sharply with most Falcon 9 upper stages, which eventually reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up; Starship 40's trajectory left it in a stable floating condition.

How Is SpaceX Planning to Recover Starship 40?

After initially remaining silent on recovery plans, Elon Musk confirmed on July 28 that SpaceX is sending a ship to the Indian Ocean to recover Starship 40. Bringing a 16-story-tall spacecraft thousands of miles from the Indian Ocean back to Starbase in Texas represents an unprecedented logistical challenge, but the intact condition of the vehicle makes recovery worthwhile. The successful soft landing and flotation demonstrate that Starship can survive water impact without structural damage, a critical capability for future reusability operations.

• Recovery Logistics: SpaceX must coordinate a specialized recovery vessel to navigate to the Indian Ocean, secure the 100-ton spacecraft, and transport it across thousands of miles of open ocean back to Texas.
• Structural Integrity: The fact that Starship 40 remained completely intact after splashdown and extended water exposure validates the vehicle's robust design and engineering, proving the concept works in real-world conditions.
• Reusability Pathway: A successful recovery would allow SpaceX to inspect the engines, heat tiles, and internal systems to understand how they performed, informing future Starship designs and recovery procedures.
• Historical Significance: If recovered, Starship 40 would become an iconic artifact at Starbase, representing a major milestone in reusable rocket development and the transition from expendable to recoverable heavy-lift vehicles.

What Does This Mean for SpaceX's Broader Strategy?

The combination of the $1.6 billion military contract and Starship 40's successful soft landing demonstrates SpaceX's dual-track dominance. The Falcon 9 contract secures revenue and military confidence in near-term operations, while Starship's progress toward full reusability represents the long-term vision for dramatically cheaper space access. Musk has indicated that SpaceX will attempt a Starship catch during Flight 14, meaning the company will try to catch the booster with mechanical arms at the launch tower rather than landing it in the ocean. The soft landing of Starship 40 proves the vehicle can survive water impact, reducing risk for future catch attempts.

The military contract also reflects broader confidence in SpaceX's launch cadence and reliability. The Space Force's willingness to award 18 launches under a fixed timeline suggests the military views SpaceX as capable of maintaining the launch frequency required for national security missions. This contrasts with earlier concerns about launch provider capacity and reinforces SpaceX's position as the dominant U.S. launch provider for both commercial and military payloads.

Meanwhile, the Starship recovery effort signals that SpaceX is serious about the reusability economics that could eventually make space access as routine as commercial aviation. A recovered Starship 40 would provide invaluable data on how the vehicle's systems perform in real-world conditions, accelerating the path to operational reusability and lower launch costs.