Commercial space companies to fund launch range upgrades under $4 billion contract

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force awarded Jacobs Technology a contract worth up to $4 billion over 10 years to provide engineering and technical services at the nation’s primary space launch ranges, as the military seeks to modernize aging infrastructure and boost capacity amid a surge in commercial space activity.

The Space Systems Command selected the Tullahoma, Tennessee-based contractor on May 31 for the so-called “Space Force Range Contract,” which covers maintenance, sustainment, systems engineering and integration services for the Eastern and Western ranges until 2035. The Eastern Range operates from Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, while the Western Range is based at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The contract represents a significant shift in how space launch infrastructure is funded. Under the new arrangement, commercial launch service providers — which now account for the majority of launches at both ranges — can request services or upgrades and pay for them directly, rather than having the government bear the costs upfront.

This arrangement would create a more market-driven approach to range operations and potentially accelerate modernization.

“Historically, the government has fronted these costs,” Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, Space Launch Delta 45 Commander and Eastern Range Director, said June 3 in a news release. “The ability of our commercial partners to directly fund their own task order will lessen the financial and administrative burden on the government and is in line with congressionally mandated financial improvement and audit readiness requirements.”

Transformation of the industry

The contract reflects the dramatic transformation of the space launch industry over the past decade. Companies like SpaceX have dramatically increased launch frequency, creating new demands on infrastructure that was originally designed primarily for government missions during the Cold War era.

Space launch industry executives have warned that the launch facilities may soon be unable to handle the projected surge in rocket launches, potentially hampering America’s competitiveness in the rapidly expanding commercial space sector.

Jacobs Technology was selected from among four contractors competing for the indefinite-quantity, indefinite-delivery Space Force Range Contract.

“This contract will transform the way operations, maintenance, sustainment, and systems engineering and integration services are provided at the Eastern and Western Ranges, to enable their eventual transformation into efficient, high-capacity multi-user spaceports,” the Space Systems Command said in a statement.

Panzenhagen noted that “the Eastern and Western Ranges have long maintained large inventories of aging systems that have increased in cost to operate, maintain, and sustain.”

The new contract aims to address these challenges through what Panzenhagen called “responsive and flexible operations, maintenance, and sustainment services” that will “advance capabilities at both ranges.”