DOD IG to review Air Force certification of SpaceX launchers

The Defense Department inspector general's office announced Monday it will kickoff an audit this month of the Air Force's certification of SpaceX's Falcon launch vehicles.

The Feb. 11 notice states that the audit will "seek to determine whether the U.S. Air Force complied with the launch services new entrant certification guide" when it approved the company's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets to fly national security space missions.

The notice does not provide additional context for the audit.

The Falcon 9 was certified for military missions in 2015 and the Falcon Heavy in 2018, and SpaceX has been awarded launch contracts for both systems. The Falcon 9 flew its first DOD payload in December, a GPS III satellite, and the Air Force awarded the Falcon Heavy its first contract in June to fly the Air Force Space Command 52 satellite in 2020.