Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is expected to bring competition to military launches, which have been dominated by United Launch Alliance, the behemoth space company that is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
"SpaceX's emergence as a viable commercial launch provider provides the opportunity to compete launch services for the first time in almost a decade," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said in a statement Tuesday. "Ultimately, leverage of the commercial space market drives down cost to the American taxpayer and improves our military's resiliency."
The first contest between SpaceX and ULA could heat up as soon as June, when the Air Force said it will issue a request for proposal for GPS III launch services.
"This is an important step toward bringing competition to National Security Space launch," Musk said in a release. "We thank the Air Force for its confidence in us and look forward to serving it well."
Last year, Musk filed a lawsuit against the Air Force, saying that his company should be able to compete against ULA in a market that is worth an estimated $70 billion, according to the US Government Accountability Office.
Musk and the Pentagon eventually settled the suit, and the Air Force pledged to work closely with SpaceX as it pushed toward certification so that it could compete for the contracts to send military satellites and other national security payloads into space.
In March, prior to certification, SpaceX said it plans to launch government satellites for less than $100 million per Falcon 9 mission. ULA, on the other hand, charges $160 million or more for the comparably sized Atlas V spacecraft.
Musk his company blasted ULA for its high launch costs and use of Russian technology, including the Russian-made engine that used to power the Atlas V; ULA now is transitioning to an American-made engine.
The SpaceX certification is going to force ULA to be more competitive when it comes to pricing, according to Marco Caceres, director of space studies with Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based consultant.
"This does jar the door open for SpaceX. It's theirs to lose. They have a vehicle that's proven and about half the price of the nearest competitor," Caceres said in an interview with Bloomberg.
ULA said it is "well-positioned to compete on a level playing field" thanks to cost-savings initiatives.
"We welcome today's announcement and look forward to competing with SpaceX and other new entrants," the alliance said in a statement. "We could not be more passionate and proud of our work, our people and our record of success."
