Boeing and Lockheed Martin plan to sell United Launch Alliance to Sierra Space

Boeing and Lockheed Martin plan to sell United Launch Alliance, potentially bringing major changes to the space launch industry.

On August 17, Reuters quoted sources as saying that Boeing and Lockheed Martin are considering selling the joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA) to Sierra Space. The acquisition price may be between $2 billion and $3 billion. If this deal is completed, it will mark a "major transformation" in the US space launch industry.

In recent years, rumors about Boeing and Lockheed Martin selling ULA have been continuous. In 2019, the two companies negotiated with potential buyers but were unsuccessful. In 2023, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. of the United States, Blue Origin founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Rocket Lab all expressed interest in acquiring ULA, but no agreements were reached. Whether Sierra Space's acquisition will succeed remains unknown.

Sierra Space was formerly the space business unit of Sierra Nevada Corporation. It became independent in 2021. The company has been developing the Dream Chaser space plane and also collaborating with Blue Origin to develop living space for space stations.

ULA was established by Boeing and Lockheed Martin in 2006, ending the long-term competition between the two companies for US government space launch contracts. It has always been an important supplier of US government space launch services. However, in recent years, ULA has faced fierce competition from SpaceX owned by Elon Musk. As SpaceX's reusable rocket technology is popular in the satellite industry, ULA has had to gradually abandon the decades-old Atlas rockets and Delta rockets. In 2023, ULA's new "Vulcan" rocket was successfully launched for the first time, but it faces challenges in mass production and other aspects. If ULA finds a new buyer, it will be freed from the constraints of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Previously, it was restricted in business expansion due to the limitations of the two major companies, and plans such as developing a lunar base were difficult to advance.

Bloomberg reported that ULA basically monopolized government rocket launch missions within 10 years after its establishment. But now SpaceX has obtained 40% of the Pentagon's contracts, and Blue Origin is also expected to get a share. Sources revealed that ULA has recently exceeded its budget and its revenue has declined, and key employees have defected to compe***s one after another. Since the beginning of this year, about 45 launch operation engineers at ULA's Florida launch base have left, resulting in delays in launch missions.

The New York Times previously reported that SpaceX now dominates the US space launch field. In the past, Elon Musk criticized the US government for finding fixed contractors and being inefficient. Now he is criticized by a new generation of space entrepreneurs for his anti-competitive methods.