spacetoday.net: ULA elects not to bid for GPS launch

ULA elects not to bid for GPS launch

Posted: Sat, Nov 21, 2015, 7:08 PM ET (0008 GMT)
Atlas 5 launch of GPS 2F-11 (ULA)

United Launch Alliance said Monday it has decided not to bid on a GPS launch contract sought by SpaceX. In a statement, ULA said that it does not have the right accounting system in place to comply with requirements in the request for proposals that funds from other government contracts will not support this contract. ULA officials previously said that congressional restrictions on the number of RD-180 engines available for competed launches raised doubts it could compete for the launch. The decision means that SpaceX will likely win the launch contract for the 2018 launch of a GPS 3 satellite, the first national security mission for the company.