A Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle is readied for lift off from the company’s Launch Complex-1 (LC-1) in Mahia, New Zealand, as part of the U.S. Space Force Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) VICTUS HAZE mission, June 19, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Rocket Lab)
WASHINGTON — The Space Force has granted task orders worth a total of $615 million to develop satellites to detect fast-moving targets in the air to three companies: Rocket Lab, STR and a company whose name was not disclosed due to “operational security,” according to Space Systems Command (SSC).
The awards represent the second round of task orders under the service’s April-issued indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) contract vehicle, SSC said in a press release Tuesday. The contract is being managed by SSC’s Space-Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio office.
The first task order, worth a whopping $4.6 billion, was awarded to SpaceX in May. The company also last week won a separate $1.6 billion Space Force contract to launch the future AMTI satellites.
“The core focus of this second task order is diversifying our capabilities and ensuring we don’t rely on a single technical solution,” Col. Ryan Frazier, acting Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio acquisition executive, said in the SSC release.
