"These new awardees, together with the other providers already on the Lane 1 contract, are building the next generation of launch vehicles. This is critical at a time when our launch cadence is rapidly increasing and our customers are relying on us to deliver everything they need to provide for the security of our nation and allies," Space Force Col. Eric Zarybnisky, the acting space access portfolio acquisition executive, said in the news release.
Space Systems Command expands the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 pool
Space Systems Command has added two California startups, Impulse Space and Relativity Federal, to the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 contract. Each company will receive a $5 million firm-fixed-price task order under an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract "to conduct an initial capabilities assessment and develop their approach to tailored mission assurance," officials said in a Space Systems Command news release.
The Lane 1 vehicle is reserved for more accessible, lower-risk missions and is designed to broaden the number of qualified launch providers. The news release described the Lane 1 contract method as one that "focuses on rapid contract award, streamlined integration phases and reduced timelines from award to launch."
Relativity Federal and the Terran R: a near-term reusable option
Relativity Federal enters the contest with the Terran R, a reusable, two-stage rocket. According to the company’s website, Terran R is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral later this year. With this award, Relativity Federal will be added to the pool of Lane 1 competitors that includes Blue Origin, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Rocket Lab, and Stoke Space.
Impulse Space’s Helios: a rideshare-to-high-energy-orbit concept
Impulse Space is pursuing a different model. Its Helios vehicle is designed to fly aboard another provider’s medium-lift rocket and then carry payloads from low Earth orbit to "high-energy orbits like Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) in less than one day," according to an Impulse Space news release. The company’s website states Helios is scheduled for a first flight in 2027.
“Pairing Helios with a standard medium-lift launch vehicle offers a more operationally flexible and cost-effective path to high-energy orbits than other solutions,” Eric Romo, president and COO of Impulse Space, said in the company news release. That approach positions Helios as an orbital-transfer layer rather than a primary booster competing on raw lift capacity alone.
Projected demand: hundreds of missions, thousands of launches
Space Force officials cited rising demand as a central driver of the Lane 1 expansion. The latest budget request expects upwards of 100 national security launch missions over the next five years, and an April service document projects demand could swell to upwards of 3,000 launches from its two launch sites by 2036. The service framed the dual-lane strategy — and additions to Lane 1 specifically — as a response to that growth in operational tempo.
What this means for Blue Origin, SpaceX, ULA, Rocket Lab, and Stoke Space
The two new awardees will be able to compete against established providers already on the Lane 1 contract, the news release said. Space Force leaders signaled an expectation that Lane 1 providers will be eligible for missions as soon as they have "successfully launched at least once," Col. Zarybnisky added in the release.
- For incumbent providers named in the announcement — Blue Origin, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Rocket Lab, and Stoke Space — the addition of Relativity Federal and Impulse Space increases the number of firms vying for the same set of lower-risk national security missions and may exert competitive pressure on scheduling and pricing.
- For Space Force customers, the Lane 1 expansion aims to shorten timelines from award to launch and broaden options for access to GEO and other high-energy orbits via concepts such as Helios.
- For procurement managers, the awards illustrate the service’s continued use of rapid, streamlined contract vehicles — in this case, IDIQ task orders that begin with capability assessments and "tailored mission assurance" planning.
The Space Force framed this round of awards as an incremental step toward a larger goal: increasing the number of operational launch providers quickly enough to meet a projected surge in missions. The immediate specifics are concrete — $5 million task orders, a scheduled Terran R flight later this year, and Helios’ first flight targeted for 2027 — while follow-on competition for Lane 1 missions will hinge on each provider demonstrating a successful launch and completing their tailored mission assurance work.
