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Space Exploration Technologies

The Pentagon is expected to award contracts to four U.S. companies by the end of August to continue design work on small rockets capable of quickly and inexpensively launching payloads, according to industry sources.

Earlier this month the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is jointly managing the development of the rockets and new small payloads with the U.S. Air Force, asked the companies to begin negotiations to finalize the awards, the sources said. That list includes: Lockheed Martin Space Systems, New Orleans, La.; AirLaunch LLC, Reno, Nev.; Microcosm Inc., El Segundo, Calif.; and Space Exploration Technologies, El Segundo, Calif.

Those contracts are expected to have potential values of $70 million to $100 million each, depending on the unique aspects of each company’s proposal if carried through to a flight demonstration later this decade, the sources said. However, Space Exploration Technologies may receive less, at least during the initial design phase, because its rocket is relatively further along in development as a result of the company’s internal investment, the sources said.
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