By Doug Cameron
The Pentagon's main supplier of space rockets will decide by
2017 between two contenders vying to replace the Russian-made
engines that send most military and intelligence satellites into
orbit, while preparing for competition in the market from Elon
Musk's SpaceX.
The United Launch Alliance LLC joint venture between Boeing Co.
and Lockheed Martin Corp. last year said it would explore using an
engine being developed by Blue Origin LLC, the company run by
Amazon.com Inc.'s founder and chief executive, Jeff Bezos. ULA is
also examining a new engine being developed by Gencorp Inc.
Tory Bruno, ULA's chief executive, told a congressional hearing
on Tuesday that the engine being developed by Gencorp's Aerojet
Rocketdyne unit was one-to-two years behind Blue Origin, but his
company plans to choose between the two in 2016 or 2017.
The U.S. Air Force has requested proposals for a new U.S.-built
rocket engine, spurred by concerns that escalating tensions with
Russia could choke off supplies of the RD-180 used on many ULA
launches. The engine is imported from Russia's state-controlled NPO
Energomash OAO and was adopted in the 1990s because of its low cost
and reliability.
Mr. Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has spent three
years pursuing Pentagon work with its own Falcon rocket, which is
powered by an engine developed in house. The Falcon is expected to
be certified for military work by June, and a larger version would
be available in 2016, allowing it to compete for all Pentagon
business.
SpaceX sparred last year with ULA and the Air Force over what it
said was as an unfair deal that gave the bulk of sensitive
satellite launch business to the joint venture. SpaceX sued the
Pentagon before settling the suit earlier this year. ULA has held a
monopoly on sensitive launches through a multiyear deal worth
around $11 billion.
Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, said at the hearing that
it would be able to undercut ULA on cost, though Mr. Bruno said the
joint venture was taking steps to reduce its own expenses.
Lawmakers have told ULA it won't be able to acquire any more
Russian engines beyond its current contracted supply, a move that
could leave it without a propulsion system around 2019, when
Congress wants a domestic replacement to be available.
Air Force leaders said this may be challenging. "I'm not sure
2019 is doable," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told a
Congressional hearing last month.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com
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