U.S. defense competitions for unmanned systems, heavy-lift helicopters, as well as light attack and launch services for national security space are heating up.

Creating a sixth armed service is not in the Chairman’s mark of the fiscal 2020 defense policy bill released June 10. Committee staff said this is a result of diverging member opinions: ranging from “hell no” to supporting a full Space Force.

The head of the House Armed Services Committee is advocating that SpaceX receive monetary assistance if the company is selected for the second phase of a next-generation rocket competition to deliver National Security Space payloads.