US space launch industry faces "major transformation"
2024-08-19
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Our special correspondent Zhen Xiang
Reuters quoted sources on the 17th as saying that Boeing and Lockheed Martin are planning to sell the United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture established by the two companies in 2006, to Sierra Space, and the purchase price may be between US$2 billion and US$3 billion. Reuters said that the sale of ULA marks a "major shift" in the US space launch industry.
In recent years, there have been various speculations and news about Boeing and Lockheed Martin's possible sale of ULA. In 2019, the two companies reportedly negotiated with potential buyers, but failed to reach an agreement. There are also reports that American Bolong Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Bezos, tried to acquire ULA in 2023, and a private American aerospace manufacturer and small satellite launch service provider called Rocket Lab also expressed interest in the acquisition, but ultimately failed to reach an acquisition agreement. It is not yet known whether the acquisition of Sierra Space will be successful.
Public information shows that Sierra Space was formerly the space business unit of Sierra Nevada Corporation, and became independent from Sierra Nevada Corporation in 2021. Sierra Space has been developing the Dream Chaser space plane, but the project has been delayed for a long time. In addition, the company is also working with Blue Origin to develop space station living space.
Reuters stated that the establishment of ULA ended the long-term competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the US government's space launch contract. Since its establishment, the company has been an important supplier of space launch services to the US government, but in recent years it has faced strong competition from Musk's SpaceX. With the rise of SpaceX, especially its reusable rocket technology, which has been very popular in the satellite industry, ULA has had to gradually abandon the decades-old Atlas rocket and Delta rocket. In 2023, ULA's new "Vulcan" rocket was successfully launched for the first time. This rocket has lower costs, but faces challenges in mass production. After ULA finds a new buyer, it will be free from the constraints of the two big companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, in terms of business. Previously, ULA had hoped to expand its business, such as developing a lunar base, but has been restricted by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
According to Bloomberg, ULA had basically monopolized government rocket launch missions within 10 years of its establishment. However, in recent years, SpaceX has obtained 40% of the Pentagon's contracts, and Blue Origin is expected to grab a certain share in the future. Sources revealed that ULA's recent budget exceeded its target and its revenue declined. In addition, key employees of ULA have also switched to competitors. Data shows that since the beginning of this year, about 45 launch operation engineers have resigned from ULA's Florida launch base, and the lack of experienced employees has caused delays in ULA's launch missions.
The New York Times previously reported that SpaceX currently dominates the field of space launches in the United States. As a latecomer, Musk once criticized the US government for always looking for fixed space launch contractors and that government contractors were inefficient. But now that SpaceX has taken a dominant position, he wants to prevent other space science and technology companies from entering the market. The new generation of space entrepreneurs intend to imitate Musk, while also criticizing his anti-competitive tactics. ▲#Deep Good Articles Project#
