The Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Competitive Procurement
Abstract
This report formally transmits the briefing slides we provided on January 28, 2014, in response to your request to examine issues related to the Department of Defense s (DOD) efforts to introduce competition into Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) acquisitions. The EELV program is the primary provider of launch vehicles and services for U.S. military and intelligence satellites. EELVs are also used to launch civilian and commercial satellites. The most recent independent cost estimate projects the program will cost about $70 billion through 2030.1 From 2006 to 2013, the program acquired launch services from a single provider the United Launch Alliance (ULA) using a two-contract structure, but had little insight into EELV launch costs. In December 2013, DOD signed a contract modification with ULA, committing the government to buy 35 launch vehicle booster cores over a five-year period, and the associated capability to launch them.2 The contract modification also covers all activities previously funded by the twocontract structure, and represents significant effort on the part of DOD to negotiate better launch prices through its improved knowledge of contractor costs. In addition to the 35 cores DOD is committed to buy from ULA between fiscal years 2013 and 2017, DOD has set aside up to 14 launches for competition among all certified launch vehicle providers.3 This report addresses the following: (1) What insight did DOD have into launch costs under past EELV contracts? (2) How do recent changes to EELV contracts affect accounting for costs? (3) How is DOD compensated for costs when ULA sells launches to other customers? and (4) What are the implications if DOD requires competitors to submit offers using the same structure it currently uses with ULA or a commercial approach? DOD is currently developing a methodology for comparing launch proposals for the competition, which is expected to begin in fiscal year 2015.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 04, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA596574
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office