May 2 2005
From The Space Library
Lockheed Martin and the Boeing Company announced the formation of a joint venture called United Launch Alliance, combining the production, engineering, testing, and launch operations associated with U.S. government launches of Boeing Delta and Lockheed Martin Atlas rockets. The merger ended a two-year legal battle between the two largest government contractors, in which Lockheed Martin had accused Boeing of cheating to win rocket-launch work. The venture eliminated market competition for launching weather satellites for NOAA, scientific satellites for NASA, spy satellites for the National Security Agency, and communications satellites for the U.S. Air Force. According to the agreement, the joint venture would produce both Boeing's Delta and Lockheed's Atlas rockets, consolidating production at Boeing's Decatur, Alabama, facility. Lockheed's Denver, Colorado, office would serve as headquarters, housing the engineering and administrative functions. Lockheed Martin's Vice President of Financial Strategies Jeffrey D. MacLauchlan remarked that the preservation of the two separate rocket families was the crux of the venture's appeal to the federal government. (Lockheed Martin, “Boeing, Lockheed Martin To Form Launch Services Joint Venture,” news release, 2 May 2005, http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2005/BoeingLockheedMartinFormLaunchServi.html (accessed 17 September 2009); Renae Merle, “Boeing, Lockheed Join Rocket Division,” Washington Post, 3 May 2005.)
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