SpaceX breaks Boeing-Lockheed monopoly on military space launches
Source: Reuters
The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday awarded billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX an $83 million contract to launch a GPS satellite, breaking the monopoly that Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N) have held on military space launches for more than a decade.
The Global Positioning System satellite will be launched in May 2018 from Florida, Air Force officials said.
The fixed-price award is the military's first competitively sourced launch service contract in more than a decade. It ends the exclusive relationship between the military and United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
<snip>
SpaceX declined to comment about its first military launch contract until after an Air Force conference call with reporters on Thursday.
Read more: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0XO2TC
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,036 posts)Critical thinking is not taught in schools, even though it is testable.
Kudos to SpaceX.
SpaceX also has announced plans to develop heavy lift systems to land payloads on Mars by 2018.
Coventina
(27,172 posts)Lockheed.
Lockheed is one of their biggest rivals!!
What an incredibly sloppy headline!
Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)"United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. " They're even freeking partners! They may even have sex!!
The HORROR!!!
joshcryer
(62,276 posts)Brett Tobey had to resign for basically admitting they didn't want to compete with SpaceX. I'm sure that's what helped prompt the Pentagon's change of tune.