Space News by Phillip Swarts — June 29, 2017
WASHINGTON — The Air Force selected United Launch Alliance as the launch provider for an experimental blast detection satellite, beating out SpaceX, the service announced June 29.
The $191.1 million contract is for the Space Test Program (STP) 3 mission, set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in June 2019 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket in the 551 configuration. The service said that $184.9 million is being awarded at the time of the contract using fiscal year 2017 space procurement funding.
The Air Force put the STP-3 launch up for bid in September 2016, giving SpaceX and ULA until December to submit proposals. It’s just the third competitively-bid national security space launch contract after an era where ULA — a joint venture between defense industry giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin — was the government’s sole source for launches.
The effort is part of the Air Force’s “Phase 1A,” an effort to “reintroduce a competitive procurement environment” into the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, the service said. This particular phase is set to cover 15 competitively-bid launches through 2019, at which point the military hopes to have several launch providers as options.
SpaceX won the first two launch contracts, including a GPS 3 launch that was awarded in March. While other companies are developing their own launch systems, currently SpaceX and ULA are the only two companies certified for EELV-class launches.
“The competitive award of the STP-3 Launch Services contract to United Launch Alliance directly supports [the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s] mission of delivering resilient and affordable space capabilities to our nation,” Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, SMC commander, said in a statement.
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http://spacenews.com/ula-wins-competition-for-191-million-air-force-launch/