ULA wins contract to launch NRO satellite from Cape Canaveral

United Launch Alliance has been awarded nearly $150 million for the next phase of a contract designed to launch secretive National Reconnaissance Office satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

The Colorado-based launch provider will receive $149.3 million to launch a three-core Delta IV Heavy rocket with the national security payload from Launch Complex 37 no sooner than December 2022.

The total value of the contract, which includes three NRO missions, now sits at $449.8 million. The modification awarded Thursday marks the second of those three.

Work for this portion of the contract will be performed in Centennial, Colorado, where ULA is based; Decatur, Alabama, where ULA builds its rockets; and Cape Canaveral for spacecraft integration and launch.

The Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base in California is the main contracting organization.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.