SpaceX gets green light to launch US military and spy satellites, breaking monopoly held by ULA

The US Air Force has certified privately held SpaceX to launch US military and spy satellites, ending a monopoly held by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, since its creation in 2006.

The decision follows two years of discussions, reviews and legal disputes between the US Air Force and Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX, and means the company founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, can compete for national security launches with its Falcon 9 rocket.

"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 James said on Tuesday.

Leveraging SpaceX's investment in an alternate launch vehicle would help drive down the cost and help improve the US military's resilience, James said.

SpaceX's first opportunity to compete against ULA would come in June, when the Air Force said it expects to kick off a competition for launches of additional Global Positioning System III satellites built by Lockheed.

The certification followed two years of intensive reviews by the Air Force and SpaceX, which already has won significant contracts with Nasa to launch cargo and crews to the International Space Station.