Posted: Thu, Dec 23, 2004, 12:39 PM ET (1739 GMT)
The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a contract Monday for the launch of a reconnaissance satellite from the West Coast. The contract covers the launch of a National Reconnaissance Office satellite, designated only as mission NROL-29, on an Atlas 5 521 booster from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in 2006. Terms of the launch contract were not announced, but news reports estimate the value of the contract at around $150 million. Lockheed is the only company currently eligible for EELV contracts as Boeing remains suspended because of ethical improprieties during the initial EELV bidding phase in the late 1990s.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Rocky Mountain News article
•  Defense Department contract announcement