Rocket Monopoly - United Launch Alliance

GCNRevenger · 2006-04-28 07:29:36

Yeah, especially since the Air Force seems to be using Atlas rockets almost exclusively, leaving Boeing's Delta to launch weather satellites.

publiusr · 2006-04-28 13:42:08

Rumor has it that both Delta IV and Atlas V production will be all in Decatur Alabama. If Atlas V comes here, it might be great for jobs.

But the 1989 F-4 Huntsville tornado and the recent twister this year seen moving towards Redstone before passing aloft like the Guin AL twister of 1974 might give them pause.

One bad storm, and we lose both EELVs.

SpaceNut · 2006-05-10 06:38:36

This deal is still not dead yet. Pentagon says Boeing,Lockheed merger review complex

publiusr · 2006-05-18 16:18:24

Boeing got hit with a half-billion in fines. They need to cede that to VSE

SpaceNut · 2006-05-22 07:40:10

SpaceX vs Boeing and Lockheed: Case Closed

"IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that the Second Amended Complaint is dismissed with prejudice, that judgement is entered in favor of defendants, that the matter is closed."
Judge Cooper stated 'the Defendants' conduct, whether anti-competitive or not, has not caused SpaceX any articulable injury',

SpaceNut · 2006-10-03 20:01:49

Lots of other links to this on spacetoday.net
FTC Intervenes in Formation of ULA Joint Venture by Boeing and Lockheed Martin

Now how can this be since this was to streamline for cost savings...
Launch deal could mean 800 new jobs Adding this many can not possibly save money but then again it would off load responsibility so that they can move with the Orion... ect.

SpaceNut · 2006-10-15 19:27:24

Close call for rocket venture the deal that almost didn’t happen; Decatur plant had role

The Pentagon's assertion that Decatur has "the world's most modern rocket manufacturing plant" was one of several factors that persuaded the Federal Trade Commission to approve the United Launch Alliance

publiusr · 2006-10-27 12:22:29

Alabama may get the new Airbus tanker contract with Northrup over Boeing, however.

In addition to our new auto plants...

SpaceNut · 2006-12-07 06:47:24

This is what we can expect from the new business front of ULA to divy up for the coming years launches.

There will be 21 space launches totally. Of this number 12 will be for the Delta II, six for the Atlas 5 and three for the Delta IV.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-15 06:55:16

Well number one for the new team has been launched. A Delta 2 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base. It was a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

The launch was the first since the ULA officially started operations at the beginning of the month. The ULS combined the government launch operations of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and includes the Delta 2 as well as the two companies' EELV rockets.

Now step two saving jobs.
ULA offers jobs to 900 ex-Boeing workers

The United Launch Alliance made relocation offers to more than 900 former Boeing employees in Huntington Beach, Calif., last week in an effort to entice them to move to Colorado.
It's a major step toward forming the alliance's 1,500-strong workforce

SpaceNut · 2007-01-12 08:15:32

The two-stage rocket, known as AV-013, stands assembled inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) near the pad at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41.

United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket set for its first U.S. military launch

The Air Force calls the mission Space Test Program 1. Onboard is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Orbital Express, a two-satellite payload that will demonstrate in-space refueling between the prototype servicing satellite called the Autonomous Space Transfer and Robotic Orbiter, or ASTRO, and the NextSat serviceable spacecraft.

More mission on tap for Atlas V:

Air Force's planned May 4 launch of another Atlas 5-401 vehicle from the Cape. This 10th overall Atlas 5 flight will haul a classified cargo into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. The AV-009 rocket's mission is designated NRO L-30.
The long-awaited launch of the military's first Wideband Gapfiller Satellite is slated for June 28. The AV-011 vehicle will fly in the 421 vehicle configuration. Built by Boeing, the 6.5-ton Wideband Gapfiller Satellite is a sophisticated geostationary communications spacecraft to serve U.S. military forces.
The AV-014 rocket in the 421 configuration will loft the Loral-built payload August 28 with the commercial launch of the ICO G1 mobile communications satellite.
Also on the manifest is the first West Coast Atlas 5 rocket flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The NRO L-28 mission on the AV-006 vehicle carries a classified payload using the 411 version distinguished by just a single strap-on solid motor.

silverthorne · 2007-04-15 17:11:41

Sorry, but the picture posted above is not AV-013 (if it was supposed to be). AV-013 was a Atlas V 401 configuration (no solids). The picture above looks to be a 431 configuration, probably the AV-004 Inmarsat mission.

publiusr · 2007-05-04 16:08:48

The single core Atlas V can (with enough solids) launch 20 tons---but that may be pushing it.

I am really doubting Delta IVs ability to do anything but sit on the pad.

GCNRevenger · 2007-05-04 23:54:22

Some think that with a small number of SRMs, sending Orion to the ISS is possible with today's Atlas-V, and either a triple-barrel Atlas-V or a hypothetical "Atlas-VI" could do the Lunar version if the fuel tanks were upgraded and a second RD-180 added.

publiusr · 2007-06-23 12:35:15

This is why I wish LockMart had just used RD-170, not the half-strength RD-180.

An RD-170 would give us an American Zenit (but with better fit and finish) and solids around that would give us an LV resembling a scaled up Delta II.

SpaceNut · 2007-10-08 20:23:26

United Launch Alliance Atlas V Awarded Two NASA Missions

Landsat and Juno, scheduled to launch in 2011 aboard
Atlas V rockets. Landsat will launch from Space Launch Complex-3 at
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and Juno from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Under the terms of the contract, ULA is responsible for conducting vehicle integration and payload processing along with launch services.
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission, scheduled to fly aboard an Atlas V
401 configuration vehicle (4-meter fairing; no strap-on SRBs), is the
future of Landsat satellites. It will continue scientists' ability to
obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education,
business, science and government. The Landsat program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth's surface on a global basis.
NASA's Juno mission, scheduled to fly aboard an Atlas V 551
configuration vehicle, will explore Jupiter with the goal of understanding
the planet's origin and evolution. As the prototype of giant planets,
Jupiter could provide the knowledge needed to understand the origin of our solar system and the planetary systems being discovered around other stars.

dryson · 2007-10-27 15:49:01

So much for the idea of using competition to get a good deal for CEV launches.

Sometimes competition between rivals negates the desired outcome on the whole. Competing sometimes also negates systems that when incorporated into one design could increase the overall effectiveness of both teams singular goal.

SpaceNut · 2011-11-25 22:38:20

A lot of activity has happened on this front with the shuttle coming to a close, the private firms all looking to get a vehicle capable of lofting there respective payloads to orbit....

Now with the tightening of the belt its only getting more scrutiny.....
Amendments Call for Tighter Scrutiny of EELV Program directs the U.S. Air Force to document plans to implement the recommendations of a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that urged the service to rethink its current launch vehicle procurement strategy, which calls for block buys of Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets.

SpaceNut · 2011-11-27 22:39:29

http://www.comspacewatch.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=35329
United Launch Alliance Completes Crucial Milestone Toward Certifying Atlas V for Human Spaceflight

The flight-proven Atlas V, which has already been certified to launch high-value NASA robotic missions, reduces the risk of launch vehicle development and early flight failures inherent in new, unproven designs, Sowers added.
"With 27 consecutive successes--98 for the Atlas program as a whole--Atlas V provides the highest confidence, lowest risk solution for human spaceflight," Sowers said.
As NASA moves forward into the first phase of the Commercial Crew Integrated Design Contract (CCIDC), ULA will offer human-certified Atlas launch services to meet the needs for the crew transportation system providers.
Three of the four current NASA CCDev partners providing commercial crew integrated services have selected Atlas V as their launch vehicle.

Space Act Agreements (SAA), the amounts of allocated funding to the four winners raised no objections, with Blue Origin receiving $22 million, Sierra Nevada Corporation – $80 million, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) – $75 million, and The Boeing Company $92.3 million.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/08/ … ilestones/

Dream Chaser is a Reusable, Piloted Lifting Body, Derived from NASA HL‐20 launching on an Atlas V.
Boeing with CST-100 capsule, which is configurable to carry up to seven crew/passengers or an equivalent combination of passengers and pressurized cargo to LEO destinations, including ISS and the BA-330 space complex.
Blue Origin’s a biconic-shape capsule, which will initially launch with the Atlas V launch vehicle, prior to hitching a lift uphill via its own Reusable Booster System (RBS).
SpaceX with Falcon 9/Dragon

SpaceNut · 2012-02-02 21:28:16

United Launch Alliance Completes Critical Milestones Toward Certifying Atlas V for Human Spaceflight

A Tailored System Requirements Review (TSRR) was successfully conducted which summarized months of work with ULA and NASA. The team reviewed the detailed evidence that demonstrates how the existing, flight-proven Atlas V meets the intent of NASA's Human Spaceflight Certification requirements. The team paid particular emphasis to requirements traceability, verification and certification planning. Because Atlas V is already certified to fly the nation's most complex exploration and national security missions, ULA was able to provide a wealth of detailed system and sub-system analysis, qualification, certification, and flight data resulting from 28 successful missions.

Its all about the numbers and right now the Atlas V has the winning edge over the Delta IV.....

SpaceNut · 2014-04-27 08:54:04

With another successful launch and upgrade provided to make the rocket more reuseable Space X has launch a law suit into this monopoly which has the spy satelite locked up with a recent 36 bulk launch order. lots of links to articles on spacetoday.net

GW Johnson · 2014-04-27 12:49:51

With the consolidation of the US aerospace industry in recent decades, there were (until recently) only the giant conglomerates Boeing and Lockheed-Martin with any history of building launch vehicles. Them and the odd engine manufacturer not yet gobbled up. Together, they operate United Launch Alliance (ULA) as a government-mandated monopoly. The government's rules specifically make it extremely difficult for anybody else to compete. ULA lobby money made sure of that. Very typical of monopolies, and for over a century now.

Now there is Spacex, who found a slightly-easier back door through NASA and exploited it, with the aid of its founder's $billions. Without that money, Spacex could not have succeeded in a game rigged against it. Now it is time for them to participate in the military launch business too. Their rocket is at least as good as Atlas-V, and their price is getting ever lower, little by little.

I'm both sad and glad to hear of the suit to break the ULA monopoly. Sad because it was necessary to go to courts and give all that money to the lawyers instead of actually doing something with it. Glad because that monopoly needs breaking, or launch costs will never go down. One way or another, we-the-people have to pay those costs.

GW

SpaceNut · 2014-09-23 19:38:49

More engine noise...

Jeff Bezos isn't the only one who says he can end U.S. reliance on the Russian-made rocket engine. On Tuesday, Alliant Techsystems said it is offering the Air Force an affordable solid propulsion rocket motor that will be available within three years.
As tensions between Russia and the U.S. have risen over the crisis in the Ukraine, members of Congress urged the Pentagon to develop an alternative to the Russian-made RD-180 engine, which is used to launch defense satellites into space. The United Launch Alliance, the joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin which has a virtual monopoly on those sensitive contracts, announced last week that it would invest in Bezo's Blue Origin space startup to develop a replacement to the RD-180, which is used in ULA's Atlas V rockets. (Bezos bought the Washington Post last year.)
The BE-4, as the Blue Origin engine is known, would be developed in about four years, officials said.
But Kent Romminger, ATK's vice president of business development, said that "we feel very confident we can do this within three years," and at a lower cost.
"We feel we can be very competitive," he said.
In addition to ending reliance on the Russian engine, the U.S. is getting closer to sending its astronauts to space aboard U.S. rockets. Ever since the space shuttle was retired three years ago, the U.S. has relied on the Russians to send its astronauts to the International Space Station. The Russians currently charge more than $70 million a seat aboard its Soyuz space craft.

ATK Offers Solid Solution to U.S. Air Force's RD-180 Replacement Request

ATK has provided the U.S. Air Force an American-made commercial solid rocket solution. Over the past seven years, ATK has incorporated those new technologies in the development of six new solid rocket motors – some developed in less than two years. "By combining our extensive experience with new technologies, we have provided commercial customers with low-cost solutions that progressed from design to flight qualification within months,"

SpaceNut · 2015-01-13 22:41:04

Wow this is still going on? U.S. court denies motion to dismiss SpaceX lawsuit

SpaceNut · 2015-01-23 21:58:56

Space x drops suit, U.S. Air Force reach settlement on rocket program, with Elon Musk making peace with U.S. Air Force over satellite contract so long as they help them with the certification paper work and possible future contracts....

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#101 2006-04-28 07:29:36

Re: Rocket Monopoly - United Launch Alliance

#102 2006-04-28 13:42:08

Re: Rocket Monopoly - United Launch Alliance

#103 2006-05-10 06:38:36

Re: Rocket Monopoly - United Launch Alliance

#104 2006-05-18 16:18:24

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#105 2006-05-22 07:40:10

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#106 2006-10-03 20:01:49

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#107 2006-10-15 19:27:24

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#108 2006-10-27 12:22:29

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#109 2006-12-07 06:47:24

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#110 2006-12-15 06:55:16

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#111 2007-01-12 08:15:32

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#112 2007-04-15 17:11:41

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#113 2007-05-04 16:08:48

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#114 2007-05-04 23:54:22

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#115 2007-06-23 12:35:15

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#116 2007-10-08 20:23:26

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#117 2007-10-27 15:49:01

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#118 2011-11-25 22:38:20

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#119 2011-11-27 22:39:29

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#120 2012-02-02 21:28:16

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#121 2014-04-27 08:54:04

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#122 2014-04-27 12:49:51

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#123 2014-09-23 19:38:49

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#124 2015-01-13 22:41:04

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#125 2015-01-23 21:58:56

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