HAWTHORNE, Calif. – On August 7, Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, commander of Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center, met with Ms. Gwynne Shotwell, president of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., and received an update on activities at SpaceX’s facility in Hawthorne, Calif. SpaceX is currently working with SMC to be certified as a national security space satellite launch provider. The Air Force New Entrant certification process is designed to ensure companies demonstrate how their newly-developed launch systems meet Air Force operational and reliability requirements.
The visit began with a 20 minute tour of SpaceX’s rocket development and launch systems, followed by an update session between Shotwell and Greaves, who took over as SMC commander in June. The pair discussed SpaceX’s path to certification and its progress. “We want to ensure a cooperative path toward SpaceX’s certification,” said Greaves. “Providing competitive opportunities among certified launch service providers will contribute greatly to a more robust – and affordable – assured access to space launch capability.”
