Imagine, if you will, the chorus of gasps that greeted the email announcing this abomination to the employees: BOEING, LOCKHEED MARTIN TO FORM LAUNCH SERVICES JOINT VENTURE

Despite the bad taste in the mouth and the desire for a long, hot decontamination shower the very thought of it spawns, it may or may not be as bad as it sounds at first.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) have entered into an agreement to create a joint venture that will combine the production, engineering, test and launch operations associated with U.S. government launches of Boeing Delta and Lockheed Martin Atlas rockets. The joint venture, named United Launch Alliance, will reduce the cost of meeting the critical national security and NASA expendable launch vehicle needs of the United States.

“It has become increasingly clear that an alliance of launch capabilities is essential to meet the space communications, surveillance and reconnaissance needs of the 21st century, and to assure access to space,” said Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Stevens. “This combination will permit our national customers to achieve their mission objectives while reflecting current budget pressures and providing the government with full cost visibility.”

So, it sounds like only the military and civil launch services are being merged -- though it seems a bit unlikely that the Alliance could merge the production, engineering, test and launch operations of two launch vehicle lines while maintaining (in the case of Lockheed Martin) independent commercial operations.

“By joining together we are convinced that we can provide the customer with assured access to space at the lowest possible cost while ensuring enhanced reliability by eliminating duplicate infrastructure and bringing experts from both companies to focus on mission assurance.”

On the other hand, "eliminating duplicate infrastructure" is a strange goal for a company which just spend several million dollars building a new launch complex, and sounds curiously like a downselect to one EELV.

Or...maybe not:

Under the terms of the joint venture, Boeing’s Delta and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas rockets will continue to be available as alternatives on individual launch missions. This will ensure that government customers are able to make decisions that meet the goal of assured access to space with two families of launch vehicles. Upon vehicle selection, the United Launch Alliance team will carry out the mission, including vehicle integration and payload processing.

But...then again, maybe:

United Launch Alliance headquarters will be established in Denver with most engineering and administrative activities consolidated at that location’s existing Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company facilities. Major assembly and integration operations will be located primarily at Boeing’s manufacturing and assembly facility in Decatur, Ala.

So, Lockheed Martin will be pushing the paper, and Boeing will be cutting chips? I wonder whose hardware Boeing will be building in a Boeing facility built for production of the Delta line? Hmmmmmmm...

Of course, there may be a consolation prize available to the loser, whichever company it happens to be:

Additionally, work the companies are performing independently in support of NASA-sponsored Space Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle concepts for future space exploration initiatives will be excluded from this joint venture.

Hmm...now, remind me again which of the two companies it is that builds the part of Shuttle system more likely to be developed into a heavy-lift launcher?

Posted by T.L. James on May 2, 2005 08:40 PM