In fairness, the DoD didn't just wake up one day and decide to Do The Right Thing. This development is the result of years of effort and millions of dollars spe

In fairness, the DoD didn't just wake up one day and decide to Do The Right Thing. This development is the result of years of effort and millions of dollars spent on lobbying by SpaceX. And even then, SpaceX is only getting a couple of launches worth at most a couple hundred million dollars. The entrenched monopoly that Lockheed runs, on the other hand, is trying to get locked into about $10 billion worth of no-bid contracts. These trial missions could be a beachhead for SpaceX in the DoD market, but this is a pretty tiny step in the right direction by the US government.