Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance Picked for Pentagon Rocket Launch Contracts

A replica of the astronaut capsule is displayed at the Blue Origin site, on the day the Blue Origin's rocket New Shepard blasts off on billionaire Jeff Bezos's company's fourth suborbital tourism flight with a six-person crew near Van Horn, Texas, on March 31, 2022. Ivan Pierre Aguirre/Reuters

WASHINGTON—The Department of Defense picked Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA) to compete for national security space missions, making initial selections under a $5.6 billion award program.

The Pentagon did not say which of the companies’ rockets it selected, but noted seven companies bid for entry into the program, which seeks upcoming rockets that must be ready to fly their first missions to space by December.