Air Force Examines Anomalies as Musk’s SpaceX Seeks Work The Air Force is examining several anomalies that occurred during Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s three civilian space flights as part of its review of billionaire Elon Musk’s quest to launch military satellites. While none of the irregularities caused the missions to fail, the Air Force is reviewing corrective actions as it weighs certification of SpaceX. Musk’s company wants a piece of a $67.6 billion Pentagon program for satellite launches, a market held by a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and Boeing Co. (BA), the government’s top two contractors. “These anomalies are continuing to be discussed with SpaceX,” the service said in briefing paper sent May 20 to Representative Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic panel. His congressional district is near the one where the joint venture, Centennial, Colorado-based United Launch Alliance LLC, assembles booster rockets. The Air Force paper provides insight into the issues the service is assessing as it considers whether Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX should be allowed to launch military satellites, which “have significantly different and generally more stringent launch vehicle requirements than” missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, according to the paper. SpaceX currently ferries cargo [...] ilinnews/air-force-examines-anomalies-as-musks-spacex-seeks-work/
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 08:01:24 +0000
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