SpaceX isn’t only working with NASA on civilian spaceflight, it’s also just become a military contractor. The Hawthorne, California-based private spacefaring company on Thursday announced it had won two Air Force contracts to bring a solar telescope and satellite into space in 2014 and 2015, respectively, confirming an earlier Reuters report. SpaceX released the following statement from CEO Elon Musk.
“SpaceX deeply appreciates and is honored by the vote of confidence shown by the Air Force in our Falcon launch vehicles,” said Elon Musk, CEO and chief designer, SpaceX. “We look forward to providing high reliability access to space with lift capability to orbit that is substantially greater than any other launch vehicle in the world.”
Those sound like more tangible short-term goals than Musk’s proposed Martian colony.
(H/T: io9)
