The Pentagon rocket program has awarded $5.6 billion to SpaceX, Blue Origin, and ULA.

• On Thursday, the Pentagon declared the initial victors in its rocket launch contract competition, with Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, securing a position for the first time.
• The NSSL program, with a budget of $5.6 billion, will have Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA competing for rocket contracts.

On Thursday, the Pentagon declared the initial victors in its rocket launch contract competition, with Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, securing a position for the first time.

The Pentagon's $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch program awarded Blue Origin a winning bid.

As part of the NSSL program's third phase, both SpaceX and ULA, a joint venture between the two companies, were awarded contracts.

CNBC did not receive immediate responses from Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA when requested for comment.

Through mid-2029, the trio of companies will be able to compete for contracts under the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 program.

Under the previous Phase 2 edition of NSSL, ULA and SpaceX were competing for contracts. Over the course of five years, ULA received 26 missions worth $3.1 billion, while SpaceX received 22 missions worth $2.5 billion.

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