The contract is worth over $102 million and will be used to transport military supplies and humanitarian aid around the world.
The contract was awarded by the U.S. Air Force. The five-year agreement is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory's new rocket cargo program, which was first reported by AviationWeek.com. The use of large rockets for the Department of Defense is being explored by a new project.
According to SpaceNews, the contract states that SpaceX will demonstrate technologies and capabilities to transport military cargo and humanitarian aid around the world on a heavy rocket.
According to SpaceNews, this is the largest rocket cargo contract of its kind ever awarded.
There are pictures of the evolution of the rockets.
The relationship stems from the fact that the DoD is very interested in the ability to deliver the cargo anywhere on Earth to support humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
The Air Force plans to work with other companies as well as the initial contract awarded to SpaceX.
The new contract doesn't specify which launch vehicles will be used Under the agreement, the AFRL will be able to view and access data for all of the launches and booster landings, so the right vehicles for the job can be chosen and assessed.
The heavy-lift Falcon Heavy rocket has been flying for years and has been used for larger missions. The company is working on a massive rocket that will use a Super Heavy booster to launch up to 100 metric tons to Earth. Musk said that the rocket could be capable of point-to-point travel.
Under the new contract, the AFRL will be able to call upon SpaceX to demonstrate its heavy cargo transport and landing capabilities, though there is not yet a specified timetable for when such a demonstration might happen.
The Air Force doesn't drive this schedule but rather will collect data whenever SpaceX flies relevant missions over the next few years.
The Air Force wants cargo bays that can be quickly loaded and unloaded, and that can fit with U.S. transportation command containers, according to SpaceNews.
On March 4, a rocket stage will slam into the moon.
Disaster relief and humanitarian aid deliveries are also included in the contract. There aren't spaceports everywhere that disaster strikes, so landing a rocket filled with necessary supplies is a challenge that will have to be overcome.
To deal with this obstacle, the AFRL is exploring a wider range of novel trajectory to mitigate overflight issues, exploring a broad range of landing options for austere sites, and researching human factors when landing near populations.
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