I still have a hard time with NRO being declassified.The U.S. Air Force has begun the process of conducting the first launch services competition since awarding the monopoly United Launch Alliance (ULA) an exclusive 36-core deal last year that sparked a lawsuit from upstart competitor SpaceX.
The Air Force posted a draft request for proposals June 4 to loft the National Reconnaissance OfficeÂ’s NROL-79 satellite next year.
Officials hope to get the work on contract this year, but that could be a thorny path as SpaceX cannot win national security launch work without certification. And its certification plan, which company President Gwynne Shotwell and launch program executive officer Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski both describe as ambitious, is slated to take all year.
On the flip side, this could be SpaceXÂ’s first chance to win national security work since the Air ForceÂ’s issuance of the multi-billion-dollar December contract prompted the company to slap the service with a lawsuit claiming anticompetitive practices.