Retaliation or Negotiation? Rogozin bans RD-180 exports to the US, while creating uncertainty about GPS and ISS

Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, has been reported to have ordered a ban of exports of RD-180 engines to the US, as long as the engines are used for military purposes. At the same time, he indicated that GPS stations in Russian may not be allowed after June 1, while Russia is not interested in prolonging ISS operations after 2020. However, all these developments could be seen as parts of a large geopolitical negotiation between the US and Russia.

Preliminary injunction against ULA dissolved

The US Court of Federal Claims dissolved the injunction issued against United Launch Alliance (ULA). The injunction had been ordered based on claims of the Space Exploration Systems Corp. (SpaceX) that ULA’s transactions with NPO Energomash, the manufacturer of the RD-180 engines used in ULA’s Atlas V rocket were in violation of Executive Order Nr. 13,661, which has imposed economic sanctions to Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister. It had been found that NPO Energomash served Rogozin’s financial interests. The order could only be dissolved after the US Departments of State, Commerce and the Treasury had sent the court an opinion that commercial transactions with NPO Energomash do not violate the Executive Order Nr. 13,661, which took place on 6 May.

Click here for the text of the dissolving order and here for ULA’s sharp criticism against SpaceX’s judicial actions.

SpaceX's lawsuit against US Air Force sparks developments

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has filed a lawsuit against the US Air Force for awarding a series of launch contracts to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) without a competition. At the same time, SpaceX had requested a preliminary injunction to block any commercial or financial transactions with NPO Energomash, a Russian company that manufactures the RD-180 engines of the vehicles used by the ULA, which was granted by the Court. This move has caused a series of reactions in the US and the Russian Federation. However, at present things may not be as tense as they seem.

Antitrust lawsuit between US firms over Russian rocket engine dropped

According to Space News, Orbital Sciences Corp has dropped the antitrust lawsuit it filed in June 2013 against United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Lockheed-Martin and Boeing, in which it alleged monopolization, attempt to monopolize or otherwise restraint the launch systems and services used for medium-class payload missions. The parties will undertake to resolve the issue through negotiations, notwithstanding Orbital’s right to refile the lawsuit.