{"id":17650,"date":"2020-08-08T00:31:39","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T16:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ula-and-spacex-win-shares-of-future-national-security-launches-blue-origin-loses-out\/"},"modified":"2020-08-08T00:31:39","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T16:31:39","slug":"ula-and-spacex-win-shares-of-future-national-security-launches-blue-origin-loses-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ula-and-spacex-win-shares-of-future-national-security-launches-blue-origin-loses-out\/","title":{"rendered":"ULA and SpaceX win shares of future national security launches; Blue Origin loses out"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_578394\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-578394\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-578394\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/200807-vulcan-falcon-630x336.jpg\" alt=\"Vulcan and Falcon\" width=\"630\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/200807-vulcan-falcon-630x336.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/200807-vulcan-falcon-768x410.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/200807-vulcan-falcon.jpg 955w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-578394\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The U.S. Space Force has given its stamp of approval to United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vulcan rocket, shown in the artist\u2019s conception at left; and SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket, shown at right. (ULA Illustration for Vulcan \/ GeekWire Photo \/ Kevin Lisota for Falcon Heavy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The U.S. Space Force designated United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as the winners of a multibillion-dollar competition for national security launches over a five-year period, passing up a proposal from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture in the process.<\/p>\n<p>Northrop Grumman and its OmegA rocket also lost out in the Phase II competition for the National Security Space Launch program.<\/p>\n<p>ULA will receive a 60% share of the launch manifest for contracts awarded in the 2020-2024 time frame, with the first missions launching in fiscal 2022, said William Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. SpaceX will receive the other 40%.<\/p>\n<p>The competition extended through the creation of the U.S. Space Force, whose Space and Missile Systems Center will be in charge of executing the launches in partnership with the National Reconnaissance Office.<\/p>\n<p>The five-year Phase II program provides for fixed-price but indefinite-delivery contracts, which means there isn\u2019t a specified total payout. But Roper said it\u2019d be reasonable to estimate that somewhere around 32 to 34 launches would be covered, which would translate to billions of dollars in business.<\/p>\n<p>Three launches were assigned today: ULA is scheduled to launch two missions known as USSF-51 and USSF-106 for the Space Force in 2022, while SpaceX has been assigned USSF-67 in mid-2022.<\/p>\n<p>ULA\u2019s two contracts amount to $337 million, and SpaceX\u2019s contract is worth $316 million. Roper said details about the payloads are classified.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Vulcan Centaur: Purpose-Built for National Security Space\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UVblBykNvdw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019ll be up to the companies to determine the appropriate launch vehicles for those launches. ULA is likely to go with its next-generation Vulcan rocket. Depending on the heft of the payload, SpaceX could choose its Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rocket.<\/p>\n<p>Roper said the winners and the also-rans were informed of the decision just before he began today\u2019s Zoom teleconference with journalists. \u201cThey\u2019ve had an hour to digest this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The competition hasn\u2019t been free of controversy: SpaceX protested being left out during a preliminary round of development contracts, while Blue Origin protested the Air Force\u2019s plan to reduce the field to just two awardees.<\/p>\n<p>Roper said the Air Force and consultants at the Rand Corp. determined that the market for national security launches wouldn\u2019t support more than two launch providers in the 2020s. But he said Rand\u2019s consultants noted that providing some support for a third company would help \u201cdiscourage foreign entrants\u201d in the U.S. launch industry.<\/p>\n<p>To address that issue, Roper said he and other Pentagon were talking with members of Congress about starting the process for a Phase III launch services program earlier if funds become available. That could give Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman something new to shoot for.<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2018, the Air Force set aside up to $2.26 billion in development funds for ULA, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman leading up to the Phase II decision, with up to $500 million earmarked for Blue Origin. But in light of today\u2019s announcement, Roper said the Air Force would work with Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman to \u201ctie off\u201d those development contracts as soon as appropriate.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Falcon Heavy &amp; Starman\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A0FZIwabctw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin can take some consolation in the fact that it\u2019s due to provide the BE-4 rocket engines for ULA\u2019s Vulcan rocket. The launch competition had its roots in a congressional mandate to stop buying Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines by 2022, and the BE-4 engines are meant to replace the RD-180s currently used on ULA\u2019s workhorse Atlas 5 rocket.<\/p>\n<p>ULA\u2019s Vulcan and Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn orbital-class rocket are both due to start flying next year. And even if the Vulcan rocket\u2019s debut ends up being delayed, Roper said there are a dozen spare RD-180s sitting around that could help ULA fill the gap with the Atlas 5.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very confident with the selection that we have made today, that we have a very low-risk path to get off the RD-180 engines on time and not have to dip into that surplus that we have available \u2014 though we\u2019re glad to know it\u2019s there should we need it,\u201d Roper said.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve reached out to all four of the companies involved in the Phase II competition for comment. In a news release, United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said his company was \u201chonored to be selected as one of two launch providers in this procurement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur Atlas and Delta rockets have been the backbone of American space launch for decades, and with Vulcan Centaur we continue to build on this progressive history of technology and advancement,\u201d Bruno said.<\/p>\n<p>Northrop Grumman said it was disappointed by the decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are confident we submitted a strong proposal that reflected our extensive space launch experience and provided value to our customer, and we are looking forward to our debriefing from the customer,\u201d the company said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin also expressed disappointment in an emailed statement:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are disappointed in the decision that New Glenn was not selected for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 Launch Services Procurement (LSP). We submitted an incredibly compelling offer for the national security community and the U.S. taxpayer. Blue Origin\u2019s offer was based on New Glenn\u2019s heavy-lift performance, unprecedented private investment of more than $2.5 billion, and a very competitive single basic launch service price for any mission across the entire ordering period. We are proceeding with New Glenn development to fulfill our current commercial contracts, pursue a large and growing commercial market, and enter into new civil space launch contracts. We remain confident New Glenn will play a critical role for the national security community in the future due to the increasing realization that space is a contested domain and a robust, responsive, and resilient launch capability is ever more vital to U.S security.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBlue Origin is very proud that our BE-4 engine will power United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vulcan launch vehicle in support of the Space Force\u2019s NSSL program and end reliance on Russian-built engines. The BE-4 is the most powerful liquefied natural gas-fueled rocket engine ever developed and the first oxygen-rich staged combustion engine made in the U.S. We look forward to supporting ULA\u2019s longstanding role in launching national security payloads.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Roper said the procurement process has already saved the government billions of dollars, and he expected the pace of launch innovation to extend into the next phase of the U.S. launch industry\u2019s evolution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis has been long in the making, and a great day for space,\u201d Roper said. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to add this to all the accomplishments that have happened in space over the past eight days, with going to Mars and getting astronauts back. \u2026 But we\u2019re not done with launch. This is the beginning of what is going to be a long-term competition in access to space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update for 10:55 a.m. PT Aug. 13:<\/strong> Six days after the announcement, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk provided his company\u2019s first reaction to the award, in a tweet that signaled dissatisfaction with the award to United Launch Alliance:<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1293949311668035586&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2020%2Fula-spacex-win-shares-future-national-security-launches-blue-origin-loses%2F&amp;sessionId=ceb6c87a3b76c5d4eaaec38af5f41fa3b4d60f60&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1293949311668035586\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i178279910215826507=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Efficiently reusable rockets are all that matter for making life multiplanetary &amp; \u201cspace power\u201d. Because their rockets are not reusable, it will become obvious over time that ULA is a complete waste of taxpayer money.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2020<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Space Force has given its stamp of approval to United Launch Alliance\u2019s Vulcan rocket, shown in the artist\u2019s conception at left; and SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket, shown at right. (ULA Illustration for Vulcan \/ GeekWire Photo \/ Kevin Lisota for Falcon Heavy) The U.S. Space Force designated United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[437,509,479,678,25,439,554,332,316,363],"class_list":["post-17650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-air-force","tag-blue-origin","tag-falcon-9","tag-falcon-heavy","tag-launch","tag-military","tag-northrop-grumman","tag-space-force","tag-spacex","tag-ula"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17650"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}