Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) received its Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) chronology from United Launch Alliance
(ULA) for review, according to a company spokeswoman.
SpaceX is now reviewing the timeline for any changes it requires, and the spokeswoman said once both companies are in agreement, the chronology will be sent to U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Susan Braden for approval. The chronology is a key point of the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. v. United States case, in which SpaceX is suing the Air Force to force the service to compete its sole sourced block buy of 35 launch cores to ULA. A Justice Department lawyer said Thursday during a hearing he expected the federal government’s version of the chronology to be finished by the end of Thursday.
Here is Defense Daily’s chronology of important dates in the SpaceX v. U.S. lawsuit, compiled from court hearings, SpaceX’s original complaint against the Air Force and publicly-sourced documents:
May 2011
- Air Force issues request for information (RFI) for contractors’ domestic launch capacities. SpaceX responds.
January 2012
- Jan. 27, 2012—Air Force issues justification and approval (J&A) for sole-source award to ULA
February 2012
- Feb. 7, 2012—SpaceX submits statement of intent and certification approach plan for Falcon 9.
March 2012
- Air Force issues sole source request for proposal (RFP) to ULA
November 2012
- Nov. 27, 2012—Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) Frank Kendall issues acquisition decision memorandum (ADM) to allow the Air Force to procure from ULA up to 36 cores for FY ’13-’17 and up to an additional 14 cores from ULA if competition is not viable.
January 2013
- Jan. 24, 2013—Kendall tells Government Accountability Office (GAO) that DoD will allow new entrants to compete for launch contract awards as soon as the new entrant delivers the data from their final certification launch.
June 2013
- June 6, 2013—SpaceX signs cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) Dragon 9 certification plan with Air Force.
- GAO says Air Force enters into letter contract with ULA, definitizing the final terms and conditions of contract in December.
September 2013
- Sept. 29, 2013—First SpaceX certification launch for EELV.
October 2013
- October 18, 2013—Air Force announces $939 million contract modification to ULA for fiscal year 2014 EELV launch capability (announcement says contract awarded Oct. 1).
December 2013
- Dec. 3, 2013—Second SpaceX certification launch for EELV.
- Dec. 16, 2013—Air Force announces award to ULA of $531 million contract modification for FY ’14-’17 launch vehicle production services and that options for that associated launch capability for FY ’15-’19 are available and may be exercised at a later date.
- Dec. 18, 2013—SpaceX says Air Force signs 36-core contractual requirement with ULA.
January 2014
- Jan. 6, 2014—Third and final SpaceX certification launch for EELV.
March 2014
- March 20, 2014—SpaceX alleges Air Force issues letter imposing additional requirements for an RFP release after a “risk assessment.”
- March 22, 2014—SpaceX delivers data to Air Force from its final certification launch on Jan. 6.
April 2014
- April 21, 2014—SpaceX says Air Force Secretary Deborah James explains to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in letter why the Air Force reduced the number of competed future EELV cores from 14 to seven and states that two other formerly competitive launches were “reallocated” to be sole sourced to ULA. James also supposedly tells Feinstein that one launch was reallocated because the lift requirements for that launch were “outside the planned certified Falcon 9v1.1 lift capabilities as [Air Force] now understands them.”
- April 28, 2014—SpaceX sues Air Force in U.S. Court of Federal Claims to compete block buy.