SpaceX Sues USAF Over Sole Source EELV Contract With ULA

                                            FALCON 9 LAUNCH                   photo credit: spacex SpaceX said it will file a suit ag...

                                            FALCON 9 LAUNCH                   photo credit: spacex

SpaceX said it will file a suit against US Air Force for awarding the long-term Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) contract to United Launch Alliance (ULA), on a sole-source basis without any competition.

The EELV contract guarantees purchase of 36 rockets for space launches from ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
SpaceX said it 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, SpaceX 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.”

SpaceX is seeking a legal determination that would open certain launches under the sole-source contract to competition. The suit will be filed with the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.

Additionally, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, ULA’s launch vehicle, Atlas V cannot possibly be described as providing “assured access to space” as it uses the Russian RD-180 engine.

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.

Other than the 36 EELV rocket cores contracted to ULA, USAF has already set aside another 14 missions for competitive bidding.

SpaceX will use its Falcon 9 and the under development Falcon Heavy rockets for EELV missions.

The Falcon 9 v1.1 has completed the three-flight certification requirement for EELV program.
USAF has already awarded SpaceX two EELV-class missions: DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) and STP-2 (Space Test Program 2) to be launched in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

The DSCOVR mission will be launched aboard a Falcon 9, while STP-2 will be launched aboard the Falcon Heavy and is targeted for mid-2015.

The two missions will support the EELV certification process for both the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.