ULA was the only company doing them, but SpaceX was recently certified. The government wants another launcher, so the only choice was to give SpaceX the contract. Most likely it’s for the same money or less.
The Air Force on Friday declined to confirm that it awarded the contract to Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, without soliciting other bids.
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The CEO of ULA says they were not asked to bid.
SpaceX.....Elon Musk....big donor to Obama and recipient of taxpayer monies for his Tesla. Recently quit as an advisor on one of Trump’s committee because Trump walked away from the Paris Accords. Musk was likely chosen for his ties to Obama before Trump took office. No bid Government contracts is another thing Trump needs to stop....NOW.
Bids? How bourgeois! We are the State!
There is a website that exists for the purpose of publicizing requests for bids. I think it would be easy enough to check if this particular contracting action was listed for bidding on the site. I wish I could remember what the site is.
There is also the possibility that the Air Force went for a sole source contract, if they felt that only SpaceX could offer the service they need.
With the different possibilities here, it is difficult to say whether ULA has a valid complaint or not.
How much of the govt $ the UberLooter Musk gets ends up back in Obama’s pockets.
As long as the X-37B OTV has been around and as well as it has worked, the Air Force needs to drop the “X” and the “T”.
Space X certified.......what a joke. Expect other launch pads to be distroyed.