Lockheed Martin eliminated from ISS cargo contract competition
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The competition heats up: NASA has eliminated Lockheed Martin’s bid for the second round of ISS cargo contracts.
This leaves SpaceX, Boeing, Sierra Nevada, and Orbital ATK in the running. While dropping Lockheed Martin reduces the number of competitors for the contracts, it increases the competition between them. The decision is now expected in November.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar to the right or below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
The competition heats up: NASA has eliminated Lockheed Martin’s bid for the second round of ISS cargo contracts.
This leaves SpaceX, Boeing, Sierra Nevada, and Orbital ATK in the running. While dropping Lockheed Martin reduces the number of competitors for the contracts, it increases the competition between them. The decision is now expected in November.
Bit of a bummer there. The Jupiter would have provided some much needed capabilities. Kind of makes sense as the other companies are further along but hopefully they keep working on it.
They should approach the DOD. Our government should be working on ASAT countermeasures and should have things like the Jupiter and X37b’s on standby just like we do nuclear weapons.
I favored Jupiter and Dream Chaser over the other proposals. It is too bad that Jupiter was too expensive. I had hoped that it would save money over the long term.
The article mentioned that the Jupiter system could also be useful for other space stations, such as Bigelow’s space habitats, and a multitude of other uses for projects that have yet to be announced — or proposed. I hope that Lockheed Martin continues developing the Jupiter for near-future use with Bigelow habitats.