spacetoday.net: Pentagon considering dropping one EELV company

Posted: Thu, Jan 30, 2003, 6:36 PM ET (2336 GMT)
Delta 4 first launch cose-up image (Boeing)

The Defense Department may drop either Boeing or Lockheed Martin from the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. The report cited Pentagon budget documents that suggest dropping support for one of the companies after 2004 as a way to save money. The Air Force awarded development contracts to the two companies in 1998 to permit them to develop new generations of expendable launchers — Boeing's Delta 4 and Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 — that could serve both military and commercial customers. At that time the Air Force believed that the commercial launch market, forecast at that time to grow considerably, could support both vehicles, providing the Air Force with "assured access" to space. However, the weak commercial market has prevented either company from making money on their launchers, forcing the Air Force to consider spending additional money to support the programs. Last month a Pentagon official openly suggested that the Air Force could spend $1 billion over the next five years to support both programs. If the Air Force does decide to withdraw funding from one company, analysts believe that that company would soon exit the launch market entirely.