Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Travel News .




LAUNCH PAD
Elon Musk halts deal between USAF and Russian rocket-makers
by Staff Writers
Moscow (Voice of Russia) May 02, 2014


CEO and chief designer of SpaceX Elon Musk. Image courtesy Alex Wong and AFP.

A decision handed out late Wednesday by a United States Court of Federal Claims judge will for now keep the American aerospace industry from buying Russian-made rockets.

Judge Susan G. Branden issued an injunction this week just days after California's SpaceX company asked the US government to reconsider a deal between the Air Force and United Launch Services - a joint-venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing - that's expected to involve space-related contracts with Russian rocket maker NPO Energomash.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk asked the feds to intervene because not only was he opposed to the Air Force awarding a non-competitive contract to the ULA without seeking other bids, but also because he thought other American companies should be considered in the midst of an international crisis that has caused tensions between Washington and Moscow to worsen in recent weeks due to the ongoing unrest in Ukraine.

The Lockheed-Boeing alliance, Musk said, relies on Russian-made engines for its Atlas V rockets.

"The long-term contract, which guarantees the purchase of 36 rocket cores from ULA to be used in national security launches, was granted to ULA on a sole-source basis without any competition from other launch providers," SpaceX said in a statement last week.

"This is not SpaceX protesting and saying these launches should be awarded to us," Musk added. "We're just saying these launches should be competed. If we compete and lose, that's fine. But why would they not even compete it? That doesn't make sense."

On Wednesday evening, Judge Branden agreed, ruling that, "in the court's judgment,the public interest and national defense and security concerns that underlie Executive Order 13,661 warrant issuance of a preliminary injunction in this case," thus prohibiting both the US Air Force and ULA "from making any purchase from or payment of money to NPO Energomash."

Judge Branden's decision also prohibits the Air Force and ULA from doing business with any entity, whether governmental, corporate or individuals, that is controlled by Russia's deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin - just one of the latest foreign officials sanctioned by Washington as a result of Moscow's perceived role in the unrest that continues to plague eastern Ukraine.

After being hit with sanctions, Rogozin announced over Twitter on Thursday that he had a new plan that could help get the US into space without relying on Russian companies any longer.

"After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest the US delivers its astronauts to the ISS [international space station] with a trampoline." Rogozin wrote.

NBC News reported this week that Judge Branden's Wednesday night decision will keep the Air Force and ULA from purchasing any Russian-made engines unless and until either the Department of Treasury or Commerce say such contractors wouldn't go against US sanctions.

.


Related Links
SpaceX
Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








LAUNCH PAD
Court blocks US plan to buy Russian rocket engines
Washington (AFP) May 01, 2014
A US court has blocked a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing from buying Russian-made rocket engines, after private rocket operator SpaceX filed a lawsuit protesting the contract. The preliminary injunction against the deal between the US Air Force and United Launch Systems was issued late Wednesday by Judge Susan Braden of the US Court of Federal Claims. The ruling blocks ULS, i ... read more


LAUNCH PAD
Replacing Russian-made rocket engines is not easy

US sanctions against Russia had no effect on International Launch Services

SHERPA launch service deal to deploy 1200 kilo smallsat payloads

Elon Musk halts deal between USAF and Russian rocket-makers

LAUNCH PAD
Nonprofit says: fire missiles at Mars to dig for signs of life

ISS research shows that hardy little space travelers could colonize Mars

Target on Mars Looks Good for NASA Rover Drilling

Mars Rover Switches to Driving Backwards Due to Elevated Wheel Currents

LAUNCH PAD
Astrobotic Partners With NASA To Develop Robotic Lunar Landing Capability

John C. Houbolt, Unsung Hero of the Apollo Program, Dies at Age 95

NASA Completes LADEE Mission with Planned Impact on Moon's Surface

Russia plans to get a foothold in the Moon

LAUNCH PAD
Dwarf planet 'Biden' identified in an unlikely region of our solar system

Planet X myth debunked

WISE Finds Thousands Of New Stars But No Planet X

New Horizons Reaches the Final 4 AU

LAUNCH PAD
Length of Exoplanet Day Measured for First Time

Spitzer and WISE Telescopes Find Close, Cold Neighbor of Sun

Alien planet's rotation speed clocked for first time

Seven Samples from the Solar System's Birth

LAUNCH PAD
Competition of the multiple Gortler modes in hypersonic boundary layer flows

New Craft Will Be America's First Space Lifeboat in 40 Years

Space Launch System Structural Test Stands to be Built at Marshall Space Flight Center

ATK Validates MegaFlex Solar Array For NextGen Solar Electric Propulsion Missions

LAUNCH PAD
China issues first assessment on space activities

China launches experimental satellite

Tiangong's New Mission

"Space Odyssey": China's aspiration in future space exploration

LAUNCH PAD
25-foot asteroid comes within 186,000 miles of Earth

Halley's Comet-linked meteor shower to peak Tuesday morning

Less than a year from its Ceres rendezvous

Asteroids as Seen From Mars; A Curiosity Rover First




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.