-- On January 25h, the US Air Force certified the latest version of the Falcon 9 rocket, the Falcon 9 Upgrade, to launch national security satellites. The new rocket can lift 30 percent more mass into orbit.
-- On January 14th, SpaceX, Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada won NASA contracts to resupply the International Space Station through 2024. The Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contracts, worth about $14 billion, are for cargo delivery services to the space station and not the transport of astronauts.
-- On January 13th, SpaceX and Orbital ATK were selected by the US Air Force for a $241 million contract for new rocket propulsion systems. This will help the Air Force end its dependence on the RD-180 rocket from Russia.
This is a nice string of events for SpaceX and its competitors (unless you are Russia). The smaller private sector firms are starting to pull their weight in the space race.
