Boeing, Lockheed must wait for antitrust review
A proposal to create a joint satellite launch business between Boeing and Lockheed Martin has been postponed again after the Federal Trade Commission issued a second request for information for an antitrust review.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) proposed last May would combine the two families of expendable launch vehicles to US government customers, but there are concerns the joint venture could exercise unfair control of the domestic launch market.
SpaceX, a start-up rocket designer, filed a lawsuit on 19 October, claiming the ULA is a conspiracy by Boeing and Lockheed to monopolise the government space launch business and drive SpaceX and other entrepreneurs out of the market. The lawsuit also argues that Boeing and Lockheed used “strong-arm tactics” to persuade the US Air Force to grant them exclusive access to major launches until 2012.
Boeing responds that the SpaceX allegations are without merit. Boeing also notes that SpaceX has yet to launch a rocket into space. The first launch of Falcon 1, a low-Earth orbit launcher, has been postponed from June to December, due to range scheduling and engineering delays.
SpaceX acknowledges its lack of a successful launch is a fair point, but fails to explain why the USAF was compelled to award exclusive rights to heavy launch contracts to Boeing and Lockheed for the next six years.
Source: Flight International
