The alliance would significantly strengthen Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight company.
It has been almost one year since the initial allegations surfaced indicating that United Launch Alliance (ULA), a rocket manufacturer based in the United States, was available for purchase. The purported list of potential suitors has been narrowed down, and it is starting to appear that Blue Origin will emerge victorious. In order to compete with SpaceX in a more aggressive manner, the merging of Blue Origin and ULA could be considered. Nevertheless, the fact that the United States could be left with two main launch providers, both of whom are owned by eccentric billionaires, is not totally flattering that this could happen.
In 2005, United Launch Alliance (ULA) was established as a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. For many years, the Delta and Atlas rockets that ULA produced were the workhorses of the United States space launch industry. As SpaceX and their reusable Falcon 9 rocket rose to prominence, this began to shift in a significantly different direction. Despite this, United Airlines (ULA) has long-term contracts with the Department of Defense, which include annual subsidies that assist the company in maintaining its infrastructure and equipment in preparation for prospective actions related to national security.
The New Shepard rocket was first developed by Blue Origin with the intention of facilitating sub-orbital commercial flights as well as space tourism. The company has successfully transported a number of visitors, one of whom being William Shatner, who had previously been in Star Trek; nevertheless, this does not even come close to covering the whole cost of creating its heavy-lift orbital rocket, which is known as New Glenn. The annual contracts that ULA has with NASA amount to more than one billion dollars. The acquisition would be a significant commitment for Bezos, but it would prevent him from having to sell off more of his personal riches in the future in order to provide financial support for Blue Origin.
In addition to all of those lucrative government contracts, this combination also has some synergies that can be explored. There are multiple launch sites owned and operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) near Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base. Recently, the Vulcan Centaur rocket (shown above) successfully launched the ill-fated Peregrine Moon lander, marking the company’s first successful launch. Jeff Bezos’ rocket company would become an industry leader in the United States of America as a result of this. When it comes to engines, Vulcan and New Glenn both use the identical Blue Origin BE-4 engines. Blue Origin is now working to fulfill recent contracts with NASA to construct a lunar lander and orbital tug. United Launch Alliance (ULA) has hundreds of skilled engineers and support workers, which could prove to be a vital asset.
It is not clear what would happen to Tory Bruno, the chief executive officer of ULA, if such a sale were to take place. Bruno enjoys a high level of respect within the sector. During his tenure, which began in 2014, he was given the responsibility of bringing a new launch vehicle to fruition and reducing costs, both of which he has accomplished. Furthermore, it is not a secret that Bezos has voiced his dissatisfaction with the executive leadership at Blue Origin. In the year 2023, the previous CEO of the corporation, Bob Smith, was ousted from his position and replaced by an official from Amazon named Dave Limp.
Ars Technica reports that Blue Origin is the only bidder left after the private equity firm Cerberus backed out of the competition. However, nothing is official; neither ULA nor Blue Origin have commented on the reported transaction. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, recently sold $2.4 billion worth of Amazon shares, and he has stated in regulatory filings that he may liquidate several billion more dollars worth of Amazon stock. There have been rumors that the price of ULA might be somewhere between two and three billion dollars. Due to the fact that Blue Origin has only successfully conducted a few sub-orbital crewed excursions and commercial payload launches, this is noteworthy because the company does not generate any profits. The first launch test for New Glenn is not scheduled to take place until later this year.