Certification Delay Dims SpaceX's Hopes of Winning NRO Contract

摘要

The U.S. Air Force, which as of mid-December still hoped to certify SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to launch national security payloads by the end of 2014, is now targeting the middle of 2015, the service said Jan. 7. The delay, which has prompted the Air Force to re-evaluate its certification process, raises fresh doubt about SpaceX's ability to win a competitive contract to launch a payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, operator of the nation's spy satellites. Bids for that contract were due in August, but only certified launch services providers are eligible to win. SpaceX has met more than 80 percent of the certification criteria under the terms of an agreement signed with the Air Force in 2013, the release said. Meanwhile, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has directed an independent team to review the new entrant certification process. "The Air Force is committed to rein-troducing competition into the extremely complex Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program and getting new entrants certified as soon as possible," James said in the press release. "As with other periodic looks we've done over the years, we will further assess whether we can streamline and improve the certification process while protecting launch mission assurance. To that end, I am directing a review of our new entrant certification process by an independent team to capture the lessons learned so we can enhance competition for launch services."