SpaceX announced that it had won two big US Air Force launch contracts Wednesday. If successful, the two demonstrations would help them qualify to compete for Air Force business against launch provider ULA (United Launch Alliance), which currently has a stranglehold on the largest Air Force launches.

The first launch, planned for a Falcon 9, will send up the long-awaited NASA DSCOVR satellite to a distant point between the Sun and the Earth, where it can look at the Earth with the Sun behind it. The second, a Falcon Heavy launch, will put up several satellites and a 5 metric ton ballast, in an effort to demonstrate the Falcon 9 Heavy for the Air Force.