Jefferson County-based United Launch Alliance’s multibillion-dollar deal with the Air Force is being challenged by business mogul Elon Musk and his California rocket company.
Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, filed a complaint Monday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, saying the Air Force should have competitively bid a $9.5 billion contract awarded to United Launch Alliance.
The deal with ULA, a joint venture of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., calls for ULA to supply 36 rockets over five years to launch defense-related payloads, such as satellites, into space.
ULA won the sole-source contract in December.
In its complaint, SpaceX claims that ULA’s use of Russian-made rocket engines “funnels hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to Russia’s military industrial base, including monies that may flow to individuals on the U.S. sanctions list.”
Musk has said that competition for the Defense Department launch contracts, which have an estimated value of $70 billion through 2030, could save taxpayers more than $1 billion a year.
ULA said in a statement Monday that the Air Force contract was issued in a “best practice” manner that will save taxpayers billions.
“This disciplined approach saves the government and taxpayers approximately $4 billion while keeping our nation’s assured access to deliver critical national security assets safely to space,” ULA said.
SpaceX brought the complaint as a bid protest, which is handled in most ways like a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court.
ULA said it has used Russian engines for 20 years in its Atlas rockets, but could transition to Delta rockets if necessary to supply the Air Force contract.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
