Billion-Dollar Space Race: From Pentagon Contracts to Sahara Secrets

SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin secure $13.5 billion Pentagon launch contracts. The Sahara, once green, housed a unique human lineage. SpaceX's private Fram2 crew wraps a groundbreaking polar orbit mission.

Elon Musk's SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA), and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin have won prestigious contracts from the U.S. Space Force. These contracts, valued at a total of $13.5 billion, will span through 2029, enabling the deployment of sensitive Pentagon satellites into space. The National Security Space Launch program will oversee approximately 54 mission assignments within this time frame, as stated by Space Systems Command.

Meanwhile, the Sahara Desert, renowned today for its aridness, was once a verdant savannah teeming with life. Between 14,500 and 5,000 years ago, it was home to a mysterious human lineage, now confirmed through DNA analysis of ancient remains found in Libya. This finding unveils a captivating epoch when the Sahara was a vibrant ecosystem.

In another ambitious venture, SpaceX's private Fram2 crew successfully completed a novel polar-orbit mission. Returning to Earth after four days, the crew's trajectory ventured from pole to pole, achieving a landmark feat in private space travel. Led and funded by Maltese investor Chun Wang, this mission marks SpaceX's sixth fully private space expedition.

(With inputs from agencies.)