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SpaceX Wins $130M Deal To Launch Air Force Satellite On Falcon Heavy

Hawthorne-based SpaceX has been selected by the U.S. Air Force, to launch one a new Air Force satellite into orbit using the Falcon Heavy, according to a contracting notice from the U.S. Department of Defense. According to the contract award, SpaceX will receive $130,000 to deliver the Air Force Space Command-52 satellite, including launch vehicle production and mission, as well as integration, launch operations and spaceflight worthiness activities. The USAF said the work will be performed in Hawthorne, plus the Kennedy Space Center, Florida; and McGregor, Texas, with work expected to be complete by September of 2020. The launch is the first announced paying customer for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, which had its debut in February, sending a Tesla Roadster into space. Despite the big $130M price tag, the contract is actually far less than the average of $350M that it has been costing the USAF to launch using the United Launch Alliance's Delta IV rockets, the only equivalent heavy lifting rocket available here in the US.