Defense and Intel Could Catch A SpaceX Ride
The first Falcon Heavy is expected to launch from Vandenberg AFB in 2013, and Musk is “very optimistic that we will soon have a contract” for the big launcher from the USAF/National Reconnaissance Office.
The NRO currently uses the Delta IV Heavy for large satellite launches. It is the most powerful US launcher since the Saturn V and lifts off from the SLC-6 complex, finally in use after decades in mothballs — implying that current launches are heavier than any preceding intelligence satellite. Moreover, the USAF is sponsoring the more powerful Rocketdyne RS-68A, delivering a claimed 13 percent increase in lift, to handle yet bigger loads.
…
The USAF and NRO’s interest in Falcon Heavy also suggests that the intelligence community plans to continue to launch large spacecraft, following the collapse of the Future Imagery Architecture program. …