Speaking at a San Francisco conference on Tuesday, Boeing Chief Financial Officer James Bell proclaimed optimism that the proposed merger of Boeing and Lockheed Martin space launch services would go through. The Air Force and the Federal Trade Commission recently questioned whether projected savings would indeed materialize. (DR, 9/15/05) Bell believes federal regulators will approve the United Launch Alliance by next year.
A new White House policy calls for the Pentagon to craft plans for additional space launch facilities to support a projected increase in launch demand that could see the U.S. supporting as many as 1,000 launches by 2030, more than a fivefold increase from 2025.