NASA Adds SpaceX Starship to Launch Services Contract - The Southern Maryland Chronicle (2025)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA has awarded SpaceX, based in Starbase, Texas, a modification to its NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract, adding the Starship launch vehicle to SpaceX’s existing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy offerings, the agency announced on March 31, 2025. This expansion enhances NASA’s options for launching planetary, Earth-observing, exploration, and scientific satellites, reinforcing SpaceX’s pivotal role in the agency’s spaceflight operations.

The NLS II contracts, managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program Office at Kennedy Space Center, are designed for high-priority missions with low to medium risk tolerance, ensuring rigorous technical oversight and mission assurance for the highest probability of success. These indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts, which include multiple awardees, have an ordering period through June 2030 and a performance period extending to December 2032. The contracts feature an annual on-ramp provision, allowing new providers to join and existing contractors like SpaceX to introduce additional launch services, fostering competition for future missions.

Starship, SpaceX’s fully reusable spacecraft and rocket system, joins the proven Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, which have launched 96% of NASA’s NLS II missions since 2010, per NASA records. Starship’s inclusion is a strategic move, given its potential to carry up to 150 metric tons to low Earth orbit—far surpassing Falcon 9’s 22.8 tons—making it ideal for ambitious missions like lunar landers or large space telescopes. The contracts support NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Space Operations Mission Directorate, Explorations Systems Development Mission Directorate, and Space Technology Mission Directorate, and also enable launch services for other federal agencies, such as NOAA, which has used NLS II for weather satellite launches.

In Maryland, where NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Prince George’s County employs 10,000 workers and supports missions like the James Webb Space Telescope, this contract modification could bolster local aerospace activity. Charles County, home to the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center, may also see indirect benefits through SpaceX’s testing activities on the Potomac River Test Range, though no direct launches occur there. St. Mary’s County, with its proximity to naval research facilities, benefits from the broader aerospace ecosystem, as SpaceX’s expanded role could drive innovation and job growth in the region’s tech sector.

However, Starship’s inclusion raises questions about readiness. While Falcon 9 has a 99% success rate with over 300 launches, Starship has yet to achieve a fully successful orbital flight, with its most recent test in November 2024 resulting in a controlled splashdown but not a full mission profile, per SpaceX updates. NASA’s decision to add Starship reflects confidence in its potential, but the agency’s high-assurance requirements may delay its use for critical missions until reliability is proven. The on-ramp provision ensures flexibility, but competition from other NLS II providers like United Launch Alliance (Vulcan Centaur) could pressure SpaceX to accelerate Starship’s development. For more details on NASA programs, visit https://www.nasa.gov.

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