We are still awaiting the details of a legal protest filed by SpaceX against the US Air Force. The commercial rocket builder says certain launch contracts should be opened up to them and other companies.
SpaceX has created the website freedomtolaunch.com, where it said it will post the documents. As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, the website simply read "Launching Soon," with a link to a press release ▼ regarding the complaint filing.
SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk announced the filing of the legal challenge Friday.
Musk is upset with the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle -- or EELV -- contract with United Launch Alliance. That's a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
It's a long-term deal where the Air Force purchased 36 rocket cores from ULA for use in national security launches.
Musk said companies like his were shutout from competing for the any of the contracts which entail some $400 million per launch. He said his company offers launches for a fraction of that.
"The ULA rockets are basically about four times more expensive than ours," Musk said. "So, this contract is costing the US taxpayers billions of dollars for no reason."
Musk also pointed out ULA's Atlas V uses a Russian designed engine, and the current head of the Russian space sector was sanctioned by the White House back in March due to tensions in the Ukraine.
Both SpaceX and ULA are currently launching from the Cape Canaveral AFS.
United Launch Alliance released the following statement Monday in response to SpaceX's pending lawsuit:
"ULA is the only government certified launch provider that meets all of the unique EELV requirements that are critical to supporting our troops and keeping our country safe. That is the case today, when the acquisition process started in 2012 and at the time of the contract award in December 2013.
The recent 5-year block buy contract was the result of a best practice acquisition process that enabled the government to negotiate a block of launches in advance that enabled significant operations efficiency and created the needed stability and predictability in the supplier and industrial base, while meeting national security space requirements.
This disciplined approach saved the government and taxpayers approximately $4 billion while keeping our nation’s assured access to deliver critical national security assets safely to space.
Space launch is one of the most risk-intolerant and technologically advanced components of our national security. That is why new entrants must meet rigorous certification criteria of vehicle design, reliability, process maturity and safety systems in order to compete, similar to the process that ULA’s Atlas and Delta products and processes have met.
ULA now provides Atlas and Delta EELV rockets that have complimentary capabilities that assure our customers that their mission needs are met. ULA has purchased a first stage engine built in Russia for the past 20 years for the Atlas rocket and has always maintained contingency capabilities if the supply was interrupted to ensure our customers mission needs are met. ULA maintains a two-year inventory of engines in the U.S., and would be able to transition other mission commitments to our Delta rockets if an emergent need develops.
Since its inception in 2006, ULA has consistently exceeded EELV cost reduction goals. At the same time, we have conducted 81 consecutive launches, achieving 100% mission success.
EELV continues to be the most successful DOD acquisition program of the past few decades. Launches have been delivered on schedule, meeting or exceeding all performance requirements, and exceeding cost reduction goals."
SpaceX announces court action to open Air Force space launch missions to competition
Source: FreedomToLaunch.com
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 25, 2014 – SpaceX announced today that it is filing a legal challenge to the U.S. Air Force’s latest Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) contract with United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The long-term contract, which guarantees the purchase of 36 rocket cores from ULA to be used in national security launches, was granted to ULA on a sole-source basis without any competition from other launch providers. SpaceX is seeking the right to compete for some of these same launches.
“This exclusive deal unnecessarily costs U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars and defers meaningful free competition for years to come,” said Elon Musk, CEO and Chief Designer. “We are simply asking that SpaceX and any other qualified domestic launch providers be allowed to compete in the EELV program for any and all missions that they could launch.”
EELV is the fourth largest procurement program in the entire Department of Defense (DOD) budget, and it has been plagued by significant and sustained cost breaches. DOD officials have reported that EELV has exceeded its original estimated per unit cost by 58.4%. Each launch by ULA costs American taxpayers roughly $400 million per launch – four times as much as a launch by SpaceX.
SpaceX currently provides launch services for NASA as well as numerous commercial customers. SpaceX is ready and able to reliably provide launch services at an estimated cost savings of 75%.
Additionally, ULA’s launch vehicle, the Atlas V, uses the RD-180 engine – an engine of Russian design and manufacture produced only in the Russian Federation. The company that produces the RD-180, NPO Energomash, is majority owned by the Russian Federation. The head of the Russian space sector, Dmitry Rogozin, was sanctioned by the White House in March 2014 in the wake of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
“In light of international events, this seems like the wrong time to send hundreds of millions of dollars to the Kremlin,” said Elon Musk. “Yet, this is what the Air Force’s arrangement with ULA does, despite the fact that there are domestic alternatives available that do not rely on components from countries that pose a national security risk.”
SpaceX is seeking a legal determination that would open certain launches under the sole-source contract to competition. The official protest document will be available Monday, April 28th at www.freedomtolaunch.com and will be filed with the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.