The row over how United Launch Alliance buys engines for its Atlas 5 rocket has escalated with legal action from rival launch provider Orbital Sciences.
Orbital is claiming at least US$515m in damages in a lawsuit that alleges ULA has been blocking it…
The row over how United Launch Alliance buys engines for its Atlas 5 rocket has escalated with legal action from rival launch provider Orbital Sciences.
Orbital is claiming at least US$515m in damages in a lawsuit that alleges ULA has been blocking it from buying RD-180 engines from RD Amross, a joint venture between Russia’s NPO Energomash and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of the US.
ULA, a JV between US defence giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is also being accused of monopolising the launch services market for certain satellites.
The lawsuit comes after it emerged earlier this month that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had launched a probe into ULA’s exclusivity deal with RD Amross.
A spokesperson for ULA said: “United Launch Alliance is aware of pending litigation from Orbital Sciences Corporation.
“ULA’s contracts to purchase the RD-180 engine are lawful and designed to provide the most reliable launch vehicle possible for critical U.S. Government missions. Due to the impending litigation, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on specifics.”
Orbital is seeking a wider slice of the government launch market with its Antares rocket, which celebrated its maiden flight earlier this year.
The group claims it has been forced to use AJ-26 engines from US maker Aerojet for this rocket, after being unable to acquire the RD-180 from RD Amross because of ULA’s exclusivity deal.
However, supplies for Aerojet’s engines are now limited because they are no longer in production. In its complaint, Orbital described the RD-180 as the “only viable long-term propulsion engine available in the US”.
It added that there are enough AJ-26 engines for the NASA missions that have been slated for Antares over the next three years, but this has never been a viable, long term solution for the rocket.
“To compete for such future opportunities, Orbital must have access to the RD-180 engine sold in the US by defendant RD Amross,” it said.
As well as still being in production, the RD-180 engines also have the advantage of being capable of significantly more thrust than AJ-26: 860,568 lbf at sea level, compared with 338,000 lbf.
Orbital has hired Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP to represent it.
The legal action was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, and Judge Leonie Brinkema has been assigned to the case.
Further complicating the matter is that United Technologies recently sold the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne business to Gencorp, which owns Aerojet.
Raymond James analyst Chris Quilty pointed to how Gencorp will likely be forced to play both sides of the dispute – supplying AJ-26 engines to Orbital while defending the RD-180 exclusivity.
