NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Boeing [BA] is not currently interested in divesting United Launch Alliance (ULA)–to Aerojet Rocketdyne [AJRD] or anyone else.
“Divesting ULA is not in our thinking at this time,” Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher said Tuesday in an email. “We are committeed to remaining a leader in the space industry and ULA is a big part of that.”
Blecher said Boeing has informed Aerojet Rocketdyne of its position on the rumored offer. Reuters reported Sept. 8 that Aerojet Rocketdyne submitted a $2 billion offer to acquire ULA from parent companies Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing. Lockheed Martin spokesman Dan Nelson on Wednesday declined to comment on the reported offer.
Aerojet Rocketdyne Vice President of Advance Space and Launch Julie Van Kleeck on Tuesday declined here at the Air Force Association’s (AFA) Air and Space conference to confirm or deny the report during a briefing with reporters. Aerojet Rocketdyne did not respond to a request for comment by press time Wednesday. ULA earlier this year rebuffed an Aerojet Rocketdyne overture to acquire the data rights to the Atlas V rocket, which ULA will eventually retire in favor of its next-generation Vulcan launch vehicle, of which it is teaming with Blue Origin.
One space expert believed the strategy behind the rumored offer for ULA was to make it use Aerojet Rocketdyne’s AR-1 engine, of which the company is shopping for a customer. Shortly after the rumored offer made news, Blue Origin announced it signed an agreement with ULA to expand their production capabilities for Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine that will power the Vulcan next-generation launch vehicle.
Nevertheless, Aerojet Rocketdyne is continuing its pursuit of additional work with ULA. Van Kleeck said Tuesday the company’s AR-1 could go on the Vulcan. Aerojet Rocketdyne last year signed an agreement with ULA to provide a competitive cost estimate, schedule and risk management plan for the AR-1 engine as well as the RS-68, RL-10 and solid rocket motors (Defense Daily, Sept. 30).