The US Pentagon has turned to recycling in order to reduce the costs of future missions, granting SpaceX the green light to use recycled rocket boosters for Falcon Heavy launches of US classified military satellites, Bloomberg has reported.

The decision would grant Elon Musk's space business a temporary edge in its latest competition with a Boeing-Lockheed joint venture - known as the United Launch Alliance - that once had a monopoly on the Defense Department’s satellite launches.

There have only been three Falcon Heavy launches to date, with the most recent one taking place in 2019. By allowing three Falcon 9 boosters to be strapped together, Falcon Heavy missions are able to provide maximum thrust for heavier payloads. 

While one Falcon 9 has nine engines in its first stage, Falcon Heavy has 27, providing a thrust at lift-off which SpaceX says is equivalent to that of about 18 Boeing 747 aeroplanes. 

Approval was granted to SpaceX last June. However...