SpaceX launches new legal battle against U.S. Air Force - SpaceNews.com

A lawsuit filed May 17 by SpaceX against the U.S. government was made public on Wednesday. In the 79-page redacted bid protest, SpaceX challenges the U.S. Air Force’s Oct. 10 decision to award development contracts to its competitors and exclude SpaceX.

SpaceX’s bid protest with the Court of Federal Claims challenges the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s decision to deny SpaceX a Launch Service Agreement contract as “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.”

The Air Force awarded LSA cost-sharing contracts to Blue Origin ($500 million), United Launch Alliance ($967 million) and Northrop Grumman ($762 million) to help the companies defray the costs of meeting the government’s unique launch requirements for the upcoming launch procurement competition known as National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement. Without LSA funds, SpaceX is required to bear the brunt of those costs on its own. In the redacted portions of the complaint, SpaceX includes what it estimates those cost would be, such as the construction of a payload integration facility at the Eastern Range launch complex. The figures were redacted.

A company spokesperson in a statement to SpaceNews says SpaceX “respectfully disagrees with the Air Force’s LSA award decision. While we support the Air Force moving forward with its Phase 2 acquisition strategy for national security space launches as currently planned, we are formally challenging the Air Force’s LSA decision to ensure a level playing field for competition.”

The bid protest lays out in detail the reasons why SpaceX believes the court should declare that the LSA award decision “violates the requirement competitive procedures.” It also asks the court to suspend further LSA investments by the government and reevaluate SpaceX’s proposal.