Printed from https://fiscalreceipts.com/program/1206853SF/ — built September 26, 2026. Every figure is citation-backed; see the page online for per-number provenance.
National Security Space Launch Program (SPACE) - EMD
Watch this program
Budget figures
FY2026 award data is a partial year — USAspending reports awards on a rolling basis, and this corpus runs through 2026-09-04. why partial FY2026 data? →
Budget trajectory
| Fiscal year | Amount |
|---|---|
| FY24 | $157.0M |
| FY25 | $103.4M |
| FY26 | $6.59M |
All series figures: R-1 TOA · PB2026
Decade view
P-1/R-1 workbook TOA basis, shown compact in $B/$M (the workbook records USD thousands); each figure cites its own President's Budget edition
The vertical scale does not start at zero: the baseline sits just below this program’s smallest year, so a low point on this line is not a small amount. Read the shape for direction and the grid below for the figures.
● actuals (line) · ○ enacted · ◇ request — gaps are editions the program is absent from, never interpolated.
| Series | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actuals | $0 | $0 | $533.0M | $195.1M | $224.4M | $157.0M | ||
| Enacted | – | $0 | $551.0M | $201.5M | $232.6M | $82.2M | $103.4M | |
| Request | – | – | $561.0M | $221.5M | $124.1M | $82.2M | $23.4M | $6.59M |
blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.
Asked vs spent: the PB2023 book requested $124.1M for FY2023; the PB2025 book reported $224.4M as actual total obligation authority — $100.3M above the request. 224.4 − 124.1 = 100.3 USD millions — the compact figures above are rounded for reading.
Program lineage
No predecessor/successor lineage was recorded for this program element — no FY-to-FY transfer into or out of this line was stated in the ingested J-books, and none was inferred from the program structure.
Description
Mission — Next Generation Launch System Investment
The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program provides a space launch service that satisfies the government's National Launch Forecast (NLF) requirements to place National Security Space (NSS) space vehicles on orbit. NSSL is a launch service, not a weapon system, which is primarily funded with production funds. NSSL Phase 2 development, started late FY 2014, funds research and development activities and related studies, to include, but not limited to, investments in new and/or upgraded launch systems and associated launch facilities to meet NSS launch needs leveraging domestic commercial launch providers. The Space Force continues to provide support to monitor and close out the remaining activities for the Launch Service Agreement (LSA) public-private partnership with United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur. Future development to capitalize on new technology and innovations developed by industry may continue to utilize public-private partnerships. The FY 2026 request was reduced by $0.065 million for Advisory and Assistance Services to promote efficiencies and advance the policies of the Administration in alignment with Executive Order 14222, "Implementing the President's Department of Government Efficiency Cost Efficiency Initiative.” This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program elements 1206392SF and 1206398SF. In PY 2.246M was expended for civilian pay expenses in this program element, and in CY 2.650M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this program element. This program is in Budget Activity 5, System Development and Demonstration (SDD) because it has passed Milestone B approval and is conducting engineering and manufacturing development tasks aimed at meeting validated requirements prior to full rate production.
Justification
Accomplishments & Planned Programs (1)
Launch Service Agreement (LSA)
Invest in providers of domestic Launch Services. This investment enables the transition from the use of non-Allied space launch engines to commercial launch services that also meet National Security Space (NSS) needs. Execute Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements to develop various industry solutions utilizing public-private partnerships. Continue the technical maturation and risk reduction activities in support of Launch Service OTAs.
Budget line items(workbook-cited)
P-1/R-1 workbook Total Obligation Authority basis (USD thousands) · PB2026.
Exhibit R-1
| Account | Org | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY24 Actuals | $157.0M |
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY25 Enacted | $103.4M |
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY25 Total | $103.4M |
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY26 Disc. Request | $6.59M |
| Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Space Force | F | FY26 Total | $6.59M |
Budget Details(R-2/P-40 facts)
J-book detail basis (R-2/P-40, USD millions) · PB2026 — a different accounting basis from the P-1/R-1 workbook TOA above; where the two disagree, the reconciliation strip under Budget figures shows both.
Wider than this screen — swipe the table sideways for the remaining fiscal-year columns.
| Project | All Prior Years | FY24 Actuals | FY25 Total | FY26 Base | FY26 Request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program Element | $0 | $157.0M | $103.4M | $6.59M | $6.59M |
| 650006: Next Generation Launch System Investment | $0 | $157.0M | $103.4M | $6.59M | $6.59M |
Follow the dollar
No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 312 of 1,938 programs). why coverage is partial? →
Related awards
Award linkage is shown for 32 of 200 profiled companies — high- and medium-confidence USAspending matches, each row labeled; medium is the weaker evidence. why partial award coverage? →
Rows marked medium rest on evidence weaker than a program-level match, and of more than one kind. An account-based row, where the award drew from the same appropriation account as this program, is an association, not evidence that this program paid for the contract. Where the evidence is instead an FPDS acquisition-program tag or a subaward description, the program is established but which of its budget lines paid is not. An announcement link a recorded review did not leave standing is medium too. Only high rows rest on the contract naming this program with a recorded review upholding it and no recorded rejection or refutation applying.
| Recipient | PIID | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| MANTECH SRS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | FA881110C0002 | medium |
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. | FA881124F0015 | medium |
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. | FA881124FB007 | medium |
Contractor concentration
No concentration index is published for this line. This line's high-confidence links do not clear the floor for a published concentration index — at least 3 awards across 2 contractor families holding positive obligations, with positive net linked dollars. An index below that floor is a fact about the sample, not about the market. Whatever further links this line carries are medium-confidence, and what each medium evidence path does and does not establish is set out in the methodology. Both bases are in the downloadable warehouse.
Lobbying mentions
No Senate LDA lobbying filing in the tracked data mentions this program element by code or alias.
Oversight
GAO oversight of this program
GAO assessed National Security Space Launch (NSSL) in its June 2025 Weapon Systems Annual Assessment, as a Space Force MDAP Increment program.
“The Space Force's NSSL program provides space lift support for national security and other government missions. NSSL procures launch services from United Launch Alliance (ULA), Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), and Blue Origin. These procurements are intended to ensure that the U.S. has the capabilities necessary to insert national security payloads into space. We focused our review on NSSL's investment in new launch systems from U.S. providers.”
GAO-25-107569, p. 167 — the assessment page in GAO’s 2025 report
Earlier editions of the same assessment: June 2024 · June 2023
GAO assessed National Security Space Launch (NSSL) in its June 2024 Weapon Systems Annual Assessment, as a Space Force MDAP Increment program.
“The Space Force's NSSL program provides space lift support for national security and other government missions. NSSL procures launch services from United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX). These procurements are intended to ensure the U.S. has the capabilities necessary to insert national security payloads into space. We focused our review on NSSL's investment in new launch systems from U.S. providers.”
GAO-24-106831, p. 181 — the assessment page in GAO’s 2024 report
GAO assessed National Security Space Launch (NSSL) in its June 2023 Weapon Systems Annual Assessment, as a Space Force MDAP Increment program.
“The Space Force's NSSL provides space lift support for national security and other government missions. Currently, NSSL procures launch services from United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX). These procurements are intended to support U.S. policy, as stated in law, to undertake actions appropriate to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, the U.S. has the capabilities necessary to launch and insert national security payloads into space when needed. We focused our review on NSSL's investment in new launch systems from U.S. providers.”
GAO-23-106059, p. 185 — the assessment page in GAO’s 2023 report
GAO assessed the program, not this budget line. National Security Space Launch Program (SPACE) - EMD is one of the lines that funds it, and GAO’s work above says nothing about this line’s own figures. Which line each GAO item attaches to is a hand-ratified crosswalk — how it was checked.
Department-level designation (not specific to this program)
GAO lists 5 high-risk areas for DOD as a whole. That designation covers the department, not National Security Space Launch Program (SPACE) - EMD. GAO's program-level work on this line is above. See the DOD oversight record.
Program dossier
No research dossier for this program — dossiers cover 50 of 1,938 programs, the largest fully J-book-detailed lines by FY2026 requested dollars. why no dossier here? →
Primary sources
Open any budget figure for its exact receipt. Verified line items lead with the highlighted government PDF; original spreadsheets download with their budget edition and exhibit in the filename.
Budget totals · TOA sources
FY2026 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J817
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2026_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2021 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J848
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2021_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2022 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J816
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2022_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2023 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J787
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2023_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2024 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J778
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2024_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
FY2025 Department of Defense Budget: RDT&E Programs (R-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit R-1 · J798
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2025_DoD_R-1_Research-Development-Test-Evaluation.xlsx.
Detailed budget justification
The related TOA spreadsheets above use a different accounting basis from R-2/P-40 detail. Their amounts are not assumed to match these detailed sources.
FY2026 Space Force Research and Development Test and Evaluation · www.saffm.hq.af.mil
PDF page 551