The army chooses rockets that it wants to build for the next decade

On Wednesday, the US Air Force awarded its new, highly anticipated series of "Launch Service Contracts", which provide funds to rocket companies to complete the development of their propellers. There were three winners:

• United Launch Services$ 967,000,000 for the development of the Vulcan Centaur launch system.
• Northrop Grumman: $ 791,601,015 for the development of the Omega launch system
• Blue origin: $ 500,000,000 for the development of the New Glenn Launch System

It is thought that at least two other companies are vying for these awards, since they won grants during a previous fundraiser in 2016. It's no surprise that Aerojet Rocketdyne does not win a reward, this company does not appear to have a customer for its AR1 rocket engine, which the army initially supported. It was somewhat surprising not to see SpaceX win a prize. We will have some speculation as to why this might have happened in a moment.

These awards are extremely significant for rocket companies. The US Air Force, which launches more complex and heavy payloads than any other entity in the world, thinks that these boosters will play an important role in these missions over the next decade. And when the military has confidence in your vehicle, commercial satellite contracts are also more likely to follow.

"This is a big win for companies like United Launch Alliance, which have the pedigree of space, and for a company like Blue Origin that is looking to take root," said Phil Larson, vice-dean and director of Cabinet at the University. from the Colorado College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Boulder. "It's great to see the Air Force adopt even more public-private partnership agreements, and of course, for anything that deals with contracts, the devil will be in the details."

Origins of the program

About three years ago, the Air Force began to think about the best way to modernize the rocket fleet that she uses to reach space. There were some drivers of this process. The Delta rocket line built by United Launch Alliance (ULA) was reliable but increasingly expensive. ULA's Atlas V rocket was more cost-effective, but it relied on Russian-made rocket engines, and Congress had asked the Air Force to gradually withdraw from this RD-180 engine. Meanwhile, SpaceX made full sense with the Falcon 9 rocket, which allowed access to some of the desired orbits by the Department of Defense, while its Falcon Heavy rocket was under development to reach them all.

Given all these considerations, as the Air Force was considering the early 2020s, she decided to create a new program to help US companies develop a new generation of rockets to meet its needs. The new launch services program called for the creation of at least two US-based rocket companies that can meet the nine goals of the military. reference orbits for large and complex payloads.

The first phase included four awards. The first two, in January 2016, were entrusted to SpaceX for the Raptor upper stage engine development tests and the ATK Orbital for the development of the main segment of the reinforcement segment. 63XL Graphite Epoxy Motor GEM (GEM) 63XL Servo Extender, plus nozzle for the Blue Origin BE-3U / EN Top Stage Motor. The latest pair of awards went to Aerojet Rocketdyne for the development of the AR1 rocket engine and to the United Launch Alliance for the development of the Vulcan / BE-4 rocket propulsion system and the ACES upper stage. The total value of these scholarships was $ 289 million.

The new winners

For ULA, this award of nearly a billion dollars allows it to move at full speed with Vulcan Centaur rocket. It was questioned whether ULA's parent companies – Boeing and Lockheed Martin – would provide the funding needed to complete the development of the next-generation Vulcan rocket.

However, thanks to funding from the Air Force, ULA can move forward for an (earlier) launch of Vulcan in mid-2020. It was a lifesaver for a company that had provided the air force with more than 10 years of expensive (but extremely reliable) launches and had struggled to cope with stiff SpaceX competition in recent years. .

It was also a decisive victory for Northrop. This company also seemed unlikely to pursue the development of its Omega rocket without significant government funding. The Omega rocket, which uses solid propellant rockets for its first and second stages and a liquid hydrogen upper stage, could be ready for its first flight by 2021. Such an important price for solid propellant propellant technology has surprised the aerospace officials Ars spoke to.

Wednesday's announcement was also marked by a huge vote of confidence for Blue Origin and its BE-4 engine, which will propel the New Glenn and Vulcan rockets. This award will allow the company to quickly build the necessary infrastructure in New Glenn, including a vertical integration facility at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, as well as to carry out the project. other certification activities.

"Thanks to the selections made today, we are seeing the space community of national security demonstrate [its] Confidence in our BE-4 engine, which will apply to New Glenn and Vulcan, as well as in our overall approach to operational reuse using our uniquely configured launcher that serves all customers, "said Bob Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Origin, in a report.

And SpaceX?

SpaceX has not received a reward. Ars has maintained with some aerospace sources, which were not directly related to SpaceX, to try to understand why. Several work theories emerged from these conversations.

On the one hand, SpaceX has already built and flown a rocket that can reach all of the air force 's reference orbits, the Falcon Heavy. In addition, the Falcon Heavy is already certified for the Air Force and won contracts. Air Force officials may also think that under contracts with NASA for commercial cargo and crews, the government has already facilitated the development of the Falcon Heavy, which uses three Falcon 9 rocket cores.

It also depends on SpaceX's offer. The government would have been more inclined to finance the development of an advanced upper floor for Falcon Heavy or Vertical integration installations. But it seems that the military has not been as interested in the Big Falcon Rocket, which is more effective than it deems necessary at present. So, if SpaceX has bid on the BFR, this is one of the possible explanations for the lack of attribution.

Whatever the reasons, the lack of reward for SpaceX means that the prosperous, innovative and individualistic Californian company will now face three companies enjoying military support while competing with them. the global launcher sector. As always, the battle will be epic and captivating.