National Security Space Launch
A program of the United States Space Force (USSF) called National Security Space Launch (NSSL), formerly known as Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) from 1994 to 2019, aims to ensure that the United States Department of Defense and other US government payloads have access to space. This is one of the most expensive military weapons in the USA. The National Reconnaissance Office works in collaboration with the Space and Missile Systems Center SMC, notably the Launch Enterprise Systems Directorate, to oversee the program. The Boeing Delta IV and Lockheed Martin Atlas V EELV families are products of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle launch system program, which was launched in 1994 with the intention of making government space launches more dependable and cheap. Along with the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, these launch vehicles were the main means of launching U.S. military satellites as of 2019.
To better represent the expanding commercial launch sector and the evolving nature of launch contracts, including the potential for reusable launch vehicles, the program name was changed from EELV to National Security Space Launch (NSSL) on March 1, 2019. The most expensive military satellites in the country are launched under the NSSL program; contracts to launch lower-value payloads, like those of the Space Test Program, are given using alternative criteria.
The NSSL program's goals are to retain secure access to space, procure reasonably priced National Security Space launch services, and guarantee mission success with strong domestic launch service providers. The program's goal is to give warfighters the launch flexibility they require while utilizing the robust U.S. commercial launch industry, which has experienced rapid growth over the previous five to seven years. The name change from EELV to NSSL was mandated by the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act in order to reflect future bids' inclusion of both reusable and disposable launch vehicles. Since its beginning in 1999, the NSSL/EELV program, which includes more than 100 National Security Space launches in support of the Air Force, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the U.S. Navy, has not experienced a launch failure.
Cost per unit: $536.5 million
