United Launch Alliance is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. It produces the Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. The joint venture officially began operations on December 1, 2006.^[1] The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is an aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... Lockheed/BAE/Northrop F-35 Lockheed Trident missile C-130 Hercules; in production since the 1950s, now as the C-130J Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is an aerospace manufacturer formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. ... It has been suggested that some sections of this article be split into a new article entitled Atlas V launches. ... Delta EELV family of launch vehicles (US Govt) The Delta IV family of rockets are EELVs (evolved expendable launch vehicles) built by Boeing IDS. They come in five versions: medium, medium+ (4,2), medium+ (5,2), medium+ (5,4), and heavy. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

ULA launched its first rocket, a Delta II 7920-10 with the classified NRO L-21 spacecraft, from SLC-2W at Vandenberg AFB, at 21:00 GMT on 14 December 2006. A Delta II rocket launches from Cape Canaveral carrying a GPS satellite The Boeing IDS Delta II family of launch vehicles has been in service since 1989. ... The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a department of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) which designs, builds and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the United States government. ... Vandenberg Air Force Base is a base with a spaceport, located in Santa Barbara County, California. ... For alternate meanings of GMT, see GMT (disambiguation). ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

ULAs operations include production at the newly built (by Boeing) Decatur, Alabama plant with engineering operations remaining at the Lockheed Martin Complex in Littleton, CO. The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is an aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... Decatur, Alabama is a city in Morgan County, Alabama, with a small portion in southern Limestone County. ... Littleton is a city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, in the Denver Metropolitan Area. ...

History

Boeing and Lockheed Martin announced their intent to form of the United Launch Alliance joint venture on May 2, 2005. The joint venture merges the production of both of their government space launch services into one central plant in Decatur, Alabama and all engineering into another central plant in Littleton, CO. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems Delta IV and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Atlas V are both launchers developed for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program intended to provide the United States government with competitively priced private spaceflight and assured access to space. The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is an aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... Lockheed/BAE/Northrop F-35 Lockheed Trident missile C-130 Hercules; in production since the 1950s, now as the C-130J Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is an aerospace manufacturer formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Decatur, Alabama is a city in Morgan County, Alabama, with a small portion in southern Limestone County. ... Littleton is a city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, in the Denver Metropolitan Area. ... Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (Boeing IDS), based in St. ... Lockheed Martin Space Systems is one of the 5 major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. ... This space for sale Private spaceflight is flight above 100km Earth altitude conducted by an entity other than a government. ...

SpaceX challenged the antitrust legality of the launch services monopoly on October 23, 2005. SpaceX is interested in competing for government launch contracts with the yet-to-be-built Falcon 5 rocket. On January 7, 2006 the Department of Defense gave preliminary approval to the United Launch Alliance while the Federal Trade Commission has yet to issue a final decision. The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) is a space-transportation startup company whose stated goal is to improve the cost and reliability of access to space ultimately by a factor of ten. It is based in El Segundo, California, USA. SpaceX is developing a family of partially reusable two-stage... October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Falcon 5 is a Falcon family two stage to orbit RP-1 kerosene/liquid oxygen semi-reusable launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX. The 1st stage includes five Merlin engines and the upper stage includes one Merlin engine. ... January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... FTC headquarters, Washington, D.C. The Federal Trade Commission (or FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. ...

In September of 2006, the Pentagon renewed their support for a United Launch Alliance. The Pentagon announced their support to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who gave their anti-trust clearance on October 3, 2006. October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The joint venture received final approval from the Federal Trade Commission and began operations on December 1, 2006. December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The ULA is expected to bring an estimated 230 jobs to the Decatur Metropolitan Area. The Decatur Metropolitan Area is a large separate but equal part of the Huntsville-Decatur Metropolitan Area. ...

External links

• United Launch Alliance
• Boeing, Lockheed Martin to Form Launch Services Joint Venture
• Full Summons and Complaint by SpaceX against Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corporation
• FTC gives prelimanary clearance to United Launch Alliance
• United Launch Alliance begins Operations

References

1. ^ United Launch Alliance Transaction completed