![ULA's Vulcan rocket rolls to the launch pad for testing.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/vulcan-to-pad-800x600.jpg)
United Launch Alliance
Lockheed Martin and Boeing are near choosing a buyer for United Launch Alliance, two sources told Ars. The jointly owned rocket company, which was founded in 2006 and for a time had a monopoly on US government launch contracts, has been up on the market most of this yr.
The sources say three buyers have emerged for the Colorado-based launch company. These include a non-public equity fund, the Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin, and a well-capitalized aerospace firm that’s curious about increasing its space portfolio.
There may be precedent for a non-public equity firm—typically a gaggle of investors that purchases an organization, overhauls it, after which resells the business—buying a launch company. In early 2022, AE Industrial Partners acquired the launch and space services company Firefly.
Blue Origin can be not an important surprise. The space company owned by Jeff Bezos has been rumored to be among the many potential buyers for some time. Although there may be some overlap between their launch plans, acquiring United Launch Alliance would give Bezos an orbital rocket and the guaranteed government contracts he covets. It will also profit Amazon’s have to launch its Project Kuiper satellites.
Ars isn’t naming the third potential buyer since it couldn’t be confirmed. This aerospace company doesn’t have a considerable amount of space business presently, but it surely has been trying to make strategic expansion into government contracts, which United Launch Alliance has through its participation within the Department of Defense’s national security launch program.
Based on two sources, the sale period is nearing its conclusion, and a buyer could possibly be announced inside a few months. The sale would still must be approved by the Federal Trade Commission and US Department of Justice to make sure it doesn’t substantially reduce competition in US industry.
United Launch Alliance deferred comment for this story to its parent firms, Lockheed and Boeing. “On the whole, it’s our company practice to not comment on market rumors or speculation,” a Lockheed spokesperson said.
Boeing said something similar: “Consistent with our corporate practice, Boeing doesn’t comment on potential market rumors or speculation about financial activities.”
Waiting on Vulcan
Ars first reported that United Launch Alliance, or ULA, was on the market in March. The players involved within the sale didn’t comment on the sale for months. Nonetheless, in October, ULA chief executive Tory Bruno said his company is perhaps a horny goal for acquisition.
“If I were buying an area business, I’d go take a look at ULA,” Bruno said. “It’s already had all of the labor done through the transformation. You’re not buying a Victorian with bad plumbing. It’s all been done. You’re coming in at the tip of the remodel, so you may deal with your future.” These remarks were widely, and appropriately, interpreted as confirmation that ULA was on the market.
ULA was created in 2006 through a merger of Boeing’s Delta rocket program and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas launcher family. Since then, ULA has been a profitable enterprise for each aerospace giants, due to military launch contracts and enormous annual subsidies from the US Department of Defense to keep up “launch readiness” for national security missions.
Lately, ULA’s launch dominance has first been challenged after which supplanted by the rise of SpaceX and its cheaper and highly reliable Falcon 9 rocket. Bruno, who became ULA’s chief executive in 2016, has slashed worker headcount and brought other steps to regulate costs, reminiscent of closing infrequently used launch pads.
Nonetheless, Bruno’s most significant initiative has been the event of the big Vulcan rocket, which is meant to be more cost-competitive with the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles while also ending ULA’s dependence on Russian-made rocket engines. The Vulcan launcher uses the BE-4 rocket engine manufactured by Blue Origin.
This heavy lift rocket is presently scheduled to make its debut on December 24 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It isn’t clear whether a possible sale announcement will probably be delayed until after this launch, which almost definitely will probably be successful, provided that ULA has staked its repute on providing reliable launch vehicles.