News SpaceX cleared for US military launches.

[Notebook]

The US Air Force has certified the private company SpaceX to launch military and spy satellites.
A joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing has had a monopoly on those launches since 2006.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32894760

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[fraxudemspas]

Obviously a huge boost to SpaceX. How long before their first launch on a mission from Dod?

On a more serious note, which rockets exactly did they certify? If I remember correctly, USAF made a big noise about the changes between F9 and F9 1.1 a while ago, and Elon stated they're retiring the F9 completely.

 

[Hlynkacg]

The certification is for "the Falcon 9 series" of boosters. Whether that includes Falcon Heavy is unclear.

 

[Kyle]

Falcon Heavy will be an entirely different set of certification. They're expecting that to be completed in 2017-18