Air Force awards contracts for new rocket prototypes to United Launch Alliance, Northrup Grumman and Blue Origin

United Launch Alliance, Northrup Grumman and Blue origin, a company of the founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos, received on Wednesday major contracts totaling more than $ 2 billion for the development of next-generation rockets capable of delivering high-security payloads into orbit.

Two of the new rockets will be selected at a second competition, offering guaranteed access to space over the next decade and beyond. In a surprise for some observers, SpaceX, the ambitious rocket company founded by Elon Musk, was not one of the last winners in the Evolved Expendable Scalable Launchers program.

Launch Service Agreements "will facilitate the development of three prototypes of national launch systems and allow for the competitive selection of two National Security Space launch service providers for future purchases, scheduled for the 2020 fiscal year at the earliest. "said the air force in a statement. .

Public-private partnerships will ensure that "the United States maintains assured access to the area, with at least two national launch service providers and without the use of unalloyed rocket propulsion systems". The contracts will be "funded gradually" until 2024 and managed by the Space and Missile Systems Center of the Air Force Command in Los Angeles.

"These awards are at the heart of the Air Force's goal of two domestic, commercially viable launch suppliers that meet the requirements of national security," said MSC General John Thompson in a statement. . "These innovative public-private sector partnerships with industry are helping to design launch vehicles to provide access to the space, to meet the urgent need to move away from space." foreign strategic dependency and provide reactive launch capabilities to the fighter. "

United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, has won a $ 967 million contract to develop its Vulcan Centaur rocket, a powerful launcher that will replace the company's venerable Delta 4 and Atlas 5 boosters.

The Atlas 5's use of Russian-made RD-180 first-stage engines has been controversial in recent years, but the new Centaure Vulcan will use two of Blue Origin's BE-4 engines for its first floor and Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engines from Centaur. step.

The Vulcan's first stage engine compartment can be dropped in flight for recovery, refurbishment and re-use. Solid fuel boosters that can be attached can also be attached to the rocket to increase take-off power based on payload requirements. ULA will launch the rocket from already-operated platforms at Cape Canaveral Air Base and Vandenberg Air Fore Air Force Base in California.

Orbital Sciences, recently acquired by Northrup Grumman, won a $ 791.6 million contract for the development of the company's Omega launch system, a rocket "capable of launching the full range of national security missions required by the company. US Air Force, as well as scientific and technological activities. commercial expenses for other customers, "says the company on its website.

The Omega rocket uses a large solid propellant first stage and hydrogen RL10 engines in its upper part. The rocket will be launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Blue Origin won a $ 500 million contract to develop its New Glenn booster, a fully reusable first-stage rocket equipped with seven BE-4 engines running on liquefied natural gas. Only one BE-4 will feed the second stage of the rocket and a third stage, using a BE-3 engine, can also be used depending on payload requirements.

"Blue Origin is honored to sign a launch services agreement with the Air Force to leverage our heavyweight New Glenn, a commercial carrier, for national security space missions." said the company in a statement.

"The LSA partnership quickly establishes a unique New Glenn infrastructure at the NSS, such as a vertical payload integration capability and a launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, as well as leading NSS certification activities. "

Blue Origin recently completed the construction of a massive new rocket manufacturing facility just outside the Kennedy Space Center, and is in the process of modifying a launch pad near Cape Canaveral Air Force Base to take over New Glenn flights.

In a tweet, Bezos thanked the Air Force for his confidence in the @BlueOrigin team and our #NewGlenn rocket.We are proud to serve the space community of national security and we are committed to providing secure and reliable access to space for the nation ".

Thank you to the @usairforce for your confidence in the @BlueOrigin team and our #NewGlenn rocket. We are proud to serve the national security space community and are committed to providing safe, reliable access to space for the nation. #GradatimFerociter pic.twitter.com/AeO3xXhnUi

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) October 10, 2018

As new prototypes are being developed, the press release indicates that the department will continue to "competitively award commercial launch service contracts to suppliers who demonstrate their ability to design, produce, qualify and launch and provide the necessary support to the mission National Security Space satellites in orbit. "

SpaceX was not part of the advertised price on Wednesday, but the company's Falcon 9 rockets are used to launch military satellites, NASA spacecraft and commercial payloads from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg airbases .

The company is also offering a three-core Falcon Heavy and is developing a new rocket called BFR, designed to carry passengers to the Moon and Mars. SpaceX recently announced plans to launch a Japanese billionaire and half a dozen artists on a flight around the moon.