Space launch firms seek to balance government, commercial client needs (Defense News)

Space launch firms seek to balance government, commercial client needs – By Courtney Albon (Defense News) / Feb 10, 2023

WASHINGTON — Space launch company executives said this week that as they serve an increasingly diverse mix of government and commercial customers, striking a balance between the demands of the two sectors can be a challenge.

United Launch Alliance, the long-time sole-source launch provider for U.S. Department of Defense missions, is experiencing this challenge in real-time as it expands into the commercial market, according to Clint Hunt, the company’s director of intelligence and defense programs.

ULA won contracts from Amazon in 2021 and 2022 to fly 47 launches for the technology company’s broadband internet constellation, Project Kuiper.

“We are looking at the government requirements and the Kuiper customer requirements, seeing where there is commonality, seeing where there is a vergence and then trying to optimize between the two,” Hunt said during a Feb. 9 panel at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation conference in Washington, D.C.

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