Boston, MA 09/18/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and aerospace company, The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) bagged U.S. Air Force’s $938.4 million contract. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s private space company, Blue Origin will also be joining the partnership to manufacture new engines for the Atlas V rockets.
United Launch Alliance
The companies have announced to create a joint venture to fulfill the contract for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV). The partnership is named United Launch Alliance (ULA). The contract demands the companies to work on the EELV launch capability of the Atlas V and Delta IV rocket series. A Zacks article points out that the deal is a modification agreement valid for a one-year period, through Sept 15, 2015. The terms of the deal demand that the launch vehicle has to be updated in areas including the integration of the space vehicle with the launch site, launch vehicle and range functions. Other areas that need additional work are systems engineering, program management and mission assurance. It also includes infrastructure maintenance and sustenance of the launch vehicle.
BE-4 Engines
The ULA announced on Wednesday that it has selected an innovative engine developed by Blue Origin for the purpose of powering its rockets. In this context, ULA’s Chief Executive Officer, Tory Bruno, said that the company seeks to incorporate the BE-4 engine to power its future rockets in around four years. Full testing of the engine is expected to be initiated in 2016 during the first launch in 2019.
Blue Origin’s founder Jeff Bezos said that the company is working on its orbital vehicle and expects to complete it in approximately ten years. The company has been into the development of the engine for three years. Bezos claims the new engine to be cost effective as it has low production costs. Bruno expects the engine to allow cost cutting, which he later seeks to pass on to the Air Force.
