The Air Force awarded United Launch Alliance (ULA) a $1.2 billion cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Delta IV and Atlas V launch capability, according to a Sept. 28 Defense Department statement.
Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Tracy Bunko said yesterday in an email the contract is for the “launch capability bridge” that will cover launch-related activities and integration for fiscal year 2013 or until the larger Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) block buy is negotiated or awarded. EELV is an Air Force program to ensure the government more affordable and reliable access to space.
“While we do intend to combine the contracting for vehicles (launch services) and launch capability at some point, there are no launch service procurements covered by this award,” Bunko said.
Bunko said negotiations regarding the anticipated block buy of EELV launches are still ongoing.
The top two members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Chairman Michael Rogers (R-Mich.) and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), expressed concern in early August that the Air Force may offer ULA a five-year “no compete” block buy of EELV launches. The two said they are also concerned that any EELV block buy that goes beyond three years’ worth of launches will unnecessarily exclude competition, including Orbital Sciences [ORB] and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), who are developing new space launch capabilities.
Rogers and Ruppersberger also proposed eliminating the Defense Department’s infrastructure subsidy to ULA to help increase EELV competition (Defense Daily, Aug. 7). ULA is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA] to provide space launch services to DoD.
ULA builds the EELV medium- and heavy-launch system, made up of Delta IV and Atlas V rockets. The Air Force, NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) all buy launch services from ULA, which is the only supplier for that class of launch vehicles (Defense Daily, April 5, 2011).