National Security Space Launch (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Feb. 3, 2020 |
| Report Number |
R46211 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Stephen M. McCall |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The United States is making significant efforts to pursue a strategy that ensures continued access to space for national security missions. The current strategy is embodied in the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. The NSSL supersedes the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, which started in 1995 to ensure that National Security Space (NSS) launches were affordable and reliable. For the same reasons, policymakers provide oversight for the current NSSL program and encourage competition, as there was only one provider for launch services from 2006 to 2013. Moreover, Congress now requires DOD to consider both reusable and expendable launch vehicles for solicitations after March 1, 2019. To date, only expendable, or single-use, launch vehicles have been used for NSSL missions.
The NSSL program is the primary provider for NSS launches. Factors that prompted the initial EELV effort in 1995 are still manifestâsignificant increases in launch costs and concerns over procurement and competition. In addition, the Russian backlash over the 2014 U.S. sanctions against Russian actions in Ukraine exacerbated a long-standing undercurrent of concern over U.S. reliance on a Russian rocket engine (RD-180) for critical national security space launches. Moreover, significant overall program cost increases and unresolved questions over individual launch costs, along with legal challenges to the Air Force rocket development and launch procurement contract awards, have resulted in legislative action.
In 2015, the Air Force began taking steps to transition from reliance on the Russian made RD-180 engine used on the Atlas V rocket. Some in Congress pressed for a more flexible transition to replace the RD-180 that allowed for development of a new launch vehicle, while others in Congress sought legislation that would move the transition process forward more quickly with a focus on developing an alternative U.S. rocket engine. Transitioning away from the RD-180 to a domestic U.S. alternative provided opportunities for space launch companies that sought to compete for NSS space launches. Because of the technical, program, and schedule risk, as a worst-case scenario, the transition could leave the United States in a situation in which some of its national security space payloads lack an available certified launcher.
The Space and Missile System Center (SMC), together with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), released a request for proposals in May 2019 to award two domestic launch service contracts. DOD plans to select two separate space launch companies in the summer of 2020 that will be responsible for launching U.S. military and intelligence satellites through 2027. NSS launch has been a leading legislative priority in the defense bills over the past few years and may continue to be so into the future.
