The struggle for supremacy in the space industry and rivalry with SpaceX is gaining momentum
Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has become a finalist among the contenders for the purchase of United Launch Alliance (ULA). Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which own ULA, have not yet commented on the possible sale of the company. Blue Origin representatives also did not respond to requests for comment.
Blue Origin is close to buying ULA, according to two sources. Although neither source has seen the agreements signed, an announcement about the sale is expected to be made in the coming months.
Since reports of the possible sale of ULA, the potential buyer has been the subject of widespread speculation and interest. In November, information appeared in the media that Blue Origin — one of three potential buyers. In December, The Wall Street Journal confirmed that competition was tightening, with Blue Origin and major investment firm Cerberus the most likely bidders.
Several recent events suggest that the sale of ULA is imminent. Several ULA department heads are already looking for new jobs. In addition, Jeff Bezos recently sold Amazon shares worth a total of $2.4 billion and said he could sell up to $9 billion worth of shares over the next year. There are rumors in the space industry that ULA could be acquired for around $3 billion.
United Launch Alliance was created in 2006 as a result of the merger of Boeing Delta and Lockheed Martin's Atlas family of launchers. Since its founding, ULA has become a profitable enterprise for both aerospace giants, conducting government launches and receiving significant financial subsidies from the US Department of Defense to maintain «launch readiness» national security missions.
However, ULA's dominance of space launch over the past decade has been supplanted by the emergence of SpaceX and its more affordable and reliable Falcon 9 rocket. Tory Bruno, who became ULA's chief executive in 2014, has taken a number of steps , including staff reductions and closing underutilized sites to reduce costs and ensure competitiveness.
One of the key questions surrounding the ULA acquisition is the future of ULA's chief executive officer, Tory Bruno. Bruno demonstrated his leadership skills with an excellent launch record and leading the development of the new large launch vehicle Vulcan, as well as competing with SpaceX. It is not yet known what role Bruno will play if ULA is purchased by Blue Origin, but there is information that he has a good relationship with Jeff Bezos.
ULA and Blue Origin have significant overlap in their business model. Vulcan, a ULA project, and Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket will compete for government launch contracts and are powered by BE-4 engines developed by Blue Origin. However, the merger of Blue Origin and ULA could become a serious competitor to SpaceX in the space launch market.
ULA has two active launch sites at Cape Canaveral in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The company also has an experienced team of experts in launching and storing cryogenic fuels in space, which will benefit Blue Origin as it plans to launch its New Glenn rocket this year.
For some time before the co-owners closed the program, ULA was developing an innovative upper stage, ACES (Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage). This upper stage was supposed to be reusable and run on liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. This is exactly the kind of technology Blue Origin will need when developing a lunar lander and a space tug that uses the same fuel.
