ULA is a leech created to attach to pork. It’s current rockets were designed by parent companies 20-50 years ago. ULA just kept making the same rockets, at higher pricing without the competition the parent companies provided, and without improving them in any significant way.
They got caught with their pants down by SpaceX, and now their existing rockets are technologically and economically obsolete. So instead of shutting them down, the Air Force gave them first position as a lifeline, even though they have to build their first new rocket ever, using an unproven engine, that’s unlikely to be cost competitive and won’t be reliable for years.
That’s the truth, Vertical assembly and ULAs reliability on their old rockets is just red herrings. Vulkan is no more worthy of a government contract than New Glenn or any other paper rocket from a first time launch system design team.
They got caught with their pants down by SpaceX, and now their existing rockets are technologically and economically obsolete. So instead of shutting them down, the Air Force gave them first position as a lifeline, even though they have to build their first new rocket ever, using an unproven engine, that’s unlikely to be cost competitive and won’t be reliable for years.
That’s the truth, Vertical assembly and ULAs reliability on their old rockets is just red herrings. Vulkan is no more worthy of a government contract than New Glenn or any other paper rocket from a first time launch system design team.