Author Topic: Space Force Prefers ULA Over SpaceX  (Read 291 times)

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Online Elderberry

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Space Force Prefers ULA Over SpaceX
« on: June 11, 2022, 08:48:03 pm »
Nasdaq by Rich Smith - The Motley Fool 6/11/2022

Space is hard -- and that can make it hard for taxpayers to get a good deal on U.S. government space launches.

Two years ago, in an effort to keep two competitors in the space race bidding against each other to keep prices down, the United States Space Force divided work on "Phase 2 Procurement" launch contracts roughly equally between SpaceX and its archrival in space, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) joint venture between Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). In a pair of contracts valued at $316 million and $337 million, respectively -- splitting the money roughly equally -- the Space Force hired SpaceX to launch one rocket and ULA two, with all three missions scheduled to take place later this year.

Space Force awards these kinds of contracts a couple-few years before the launches take place, though. And that means, here at the halfway mark in 2022, it's already time to award a few more contracts.

60 for me, 40 for thee

As SpaceNews.com just reported, the next eight Phase 2 Procurement national security missions (to launch over the next two years) will weigh more heavily in ULA's favor. This time around, ULA again gets the majority of the contracts -- five missions to put out: a GPS-3 satellite, the WGS-11+ military communications satellite, and three classified Space Force satellites dubbed USSF-16, USSF-23, and USSF-43 in orbit. It also gets the vast majority of the money being allocated, $566 million.

In contrast, SpaceX was awarded only three launch missions: USSF-124 (a missile defense satellite), USSF-62 (a military weather satellite), and the first batch of small satellites comprising the Space Development Agency's "Tranche 1 Transport Layer" of comsats. For this launch work, SpaceX will be paid $280 million.

More: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/space-force-prefers-ula-over-spacex