WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Space Force said on Wednesday it has cleared Boeing and Lockheed Martin's Vulcan rocket to launch national security satellites for the United States.

SpaceX was the first company to handle such missions.

"Vulcan certification adds launch capacity, resiliency, and flexibility needed by our nation's most critical space-based systems," said Brigadier General Kristin Panzenhagen, the program executive officer for assured access to space.

Vulcan was developed to replace the Boeing LMT joint venture ULA's workhorse Atlas V rocket and rival the reusable Falcon 9 from Elon Musk's SpaceX.