Author Topic: LOCKHEED MARTIN ANNOUNCES SALE OF ITS INTERESTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES AND LKEI  (Read 15840 times)

Offline jacqmans

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LOCKHEED MARTIN ANNOUNCES SALE OF ITS INTERESTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES AND LKEI

BETHESDA, MD,September 7, 2006

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] announced today the proposed sale of its ownership interests in Lockheed Khrunichev Energia International, Inc. (LKEI) and ILS International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) to Space Transport Inc.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

LKEI was formed as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and two Russian companies, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center ("Khrunichev") and S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, to sell Proton launch services to commercial customers around the world.  LKEI under the brand ILS currently provides sales, marketing and mission management support for launches of both the Lockheed Martin-built Atlas and Khrunichev-built Proton and Angara rockets to commercial customers.  

To date, ILS has launched 37 commercial Protons and has a backlog for 11 additional launches.

Following the sale, ILS, which will no longer be affiliated with Lockheed Martin, will continue to market the Krunichev-built Proton and Angara launch vehicles to commercial clients and expects to provide all the same sales, contracting, licensing, mission management and customer support services.  Lockheed Martin will retain all rights related to the commercial Atlas vehicle and will continue to offer commercial Atlas launch services through its subsidiary, Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services.

Consummation of the proposed transaction remains subject to completion of regulatory review and other closing conditions.  Completion of the transaction is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2006 and is not expected to have a material effect on Lockheed Martin's ongoing financial condition, results of operations or cash flow.
   
ILS is based in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C., and is expected to continue operations from that location.
 
Contact:
Tom Jurkowsky, Vice President, Media Relations, (301) 897-6352
Tom Greer, Sr. Manager, Media Relations, (301) 897-6195
Jacques :-)

Offline Jim

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Offline Cayley

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Who is Space Transport Inc anyway?

Offline edkyle99

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Cayley - 7/9/2006  10:57 AM

Who is Space Transport Inc anyway?

I suspect it is a spinoff that may retain some of the current ILS staff.  

There was a "Space Transport Inc." in Forks, Washington, but that company closed down in February 2005 after failing to put together a run at the Ansari X-Prize.

1.) I wonder how much effect this will have on Proton, and plans for Angara.
2.) I wonder if this is the end of Atlas commercial launches.
3.) I wonder if Boeing will sell its Sea Launch interest in a similar way.

 - Ed Kyle

Offline Spirit

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Why did Lockheed Martin sell their interest in ILS? Is it because of NASA selectiting them to build Orion? Also what will happen with the Atlas V RD-180 engines that are Russian?
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Atanas

Offline Space Lizard

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LockMart could not put money on Angara for legal reasons so no change here.

ILS was in a bad mood as Arianespace is back and, together with Sea/Land Launch, it skeams most of the commercial market.

ILS sells mostly Protons and Atlas 5 cannot break through as a commercial vehicle.

Without Boeing, Sea Launch is likely to fold up, so I hope they won't pull the plug too. Else we would be back to Arianespace's pre-ILS monopoly.

For RD-180, the agreement was between LockMart and Energomash (through Roskosmos), so it should not be affected.
I watch rockets

Offline PurduesUSAFguy

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I wonder if this move is a precurssor to Lockheed Martin/ULA moving to try and make the EELV workable on the commercial market, a feild in which the Atlas V has been less then stellar in and to the best of my knoweledge the Delta IV hasn't been a player in at all.

Speeking of with the ULA pending what is going to happen to the Delta IV line? Are they going to down select to the Atlas and just keep the DIV Heavy around to side step having to develop the three barrel varient of the Atlas or what?

Offline R&R

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PurduesUSAFguy - 11/9/2006  8:14 AM

I wonder if this move is a precurssor to Lockheed Martin/ULA moving to try and make the EELV workable on the commercial market, a feild in which the Atlas V has been less then stellar in and to the best of my knoweledge the Delta IV hasn't been a player in at all.

Has nothing to do with ULA.  ILS and BLS would be resposible for selling launches for ULA.  Now it would be LMCLS and BLS.  Now this change could further slow down ULA since they made need the FTC to update the pending approval.  Delta IV has not been offered commericially since after the fist flight in 2002.

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Speeking of with the ULA pending what is going to happen to the Delta IV line? Are they going to down select to the Atlas and just keep the DIV Heavy around to side step having to develop the three barrel varient of the Atlas or what?

Nothing.  Delta IV has launches for the government for several more years.  Boeing has it's Buy 3 contract which pays for the overhead and guarantees a set number of launches per year through 2010.  There are also more launches pending.  Atlas V Heavy design is complete all they need is a customer and two years lead time to build it.  The ace in the hole for Atlas V Heavy could be NASA if the Stick hits a major road block.

Offline sammie

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Without Boeing, Sea Launch is likely to fold up, so I hope they won't pull the plug too

How whould Sea Launch fold, although I haven't seen figures they are doing a full manifest for the next couple of years.

But I too would be interested why LM sold their stakes and how big of a finger LM has in Space Transport Inc.
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Offline lmike

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Coincidentally Boeing and LM (and Arianespace via Alcatel, etc... for their respective launcher) sat divisions manufacture the very same satellites their respective rocket enterprises launch.  A sat's customer does have a say, as does the payload insurer, but launch market is not a free market.  The upshot = Sea Launch (and Land launch by extension) would fold if Boeing pulls out, the payloads would be transferred.  This scenario is highly unlikely, however.  The Sea Launch scheme seems to be too good for Boeing to drop.

Offline Space Lizard

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sammie - 10/9/2006  10:28 PM

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Without Boeing, Sea Launch is likely to fold up, so I hope they won't pull the plug too

How whould Sea Launch fold, although I haven't seen figures they are doing a full manifest for the next couple of years.
You know, there's a big way from selling contracts, getting paid and making benefits.
I watch rockets

Offline Jim

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lmike - 10/9/2006  4:41 PM

Coincidentally Boeing and LM (and Arianespace via Alcatel, etc... for their respective launcher) sat divisions manufacture the very same satellites their respective rocket enterprises launch.  A sat's customer does have a say, as does the payload insurer, but launch market is not a free market.  The upshot = Sea Launch (and Land launch by extension) would fold if Boeing pulls out, the payloads would be transferred.  This scenario is highly unlikely, however.  The Sea Launch scheme seems to be too good for Boeing to drop.

There are firewalls that prevent the sat divisions from talking to LV divisions and getting inside info

Offline sammie

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A follow on from the avia.ru newsletter.

RUSSIAN SIDE READY TO MARKET PROTON AND ANGARA  ROCKETS WORLDWIDE WITHOUT LOCKHEED MARTIN

The Russian side is ready to market Proton and Angara  boosters independently worldwide without Lockheed Martin after U.S. partners' withdrawal from the JV, said Alexander Bobrenev, the press-secretary of the Khrunichev State space Research and Production Centre. The sale by Lockheed Martin of its property share in JV 'International Launch Services' (ILS) doesn't mean we stop cooperating with this firm. We shall continue our interaction in other areas, he noted.

In Bobrenev's opinion, why Lockheed Martin has announced the sale of its property share in the JV engaged in offering commercial launch services has probably been caused by 'the corporation's decision  to concentrate on domestic market'. Answering  ITAR-TASS's question whether differences between partners on launch pricing policies could inspire Americans to take this decision Bobrenev said 'In fact we were speaking of how to increase prices for launch services, but a reason for that were macroeconomic factors: inflation, energy resources or metal costs growth, and so on.

An increase in launch prices on  the international market is an objective reality, and we are not the only company to plan to increase the launch prices. The U.S. partners understand quite well that any business must be profitable, stressed a spokesman for the Khrunichev Center.

'The Russian side is ready to pay back Lockheed Martin's whole property share in the JV and to carry out the marketing of the Proton and Angara boosters, he noted. According to Lockheed Martin an American firm, Space Transport Incorporation',   will be disposing of this share which is half the JV property before the end of this year until all legal questions are settled. In the future, the share may be acquired  by a Russian company. ' To date, no preliminary arrangements have been reached with some specific creditors', stressed Bobrenev. For the time being it is also not a question of altering the ILS brand, he noted pointing out that ' ILS 's all commitments  to its customers still retain their legal force'.

Since April 1996 there have been carried out 41 commercial launches of foreign space vehicles with the help of Protons.  Another 11 commercial launches are planned to be performed before the end of 2008,  specified Bobrenev. Two of them- launches of satellites 'Arabsat-4B' and 'Misat-3' are set for this year.
"The dreams ain't broken downhere, they're just walking with a limp"

Offline meiza

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There's also speculation here, when space.com interviewed the guy, Mario Lemme, who bought the Lockeed Martin share of ILS:
"Like all Russian companies, Khrunichev has witnessed a sharp increase in the costs of its raw materials in recent months, putting pressure on the profitability of ILS."
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060911_business_monday.html

Offline sammie

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Thanks for that space.com link. It gives a lot of extra detail. Interesting development in the launcher business for sure!
"The dreams ain't broken downhere, they're just walking with a limp"

Offline edkyle99

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I noticed that the International Launch Services web site appeared to have had the readily available Angara information scrubbed off of it, possibly on September 6, 2006.  The User's Guide is still there, though buried a bit behind a log-in page.  

Angara seems to keep receding into the future.

 - Ed Kyle

Offline Dexter

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Space Lizard - 10/9/2006 8:39 AM

LockMart could not put money on Angara for legal reasons so no change here.

ILS was in a bad mood as Arianespace is back and, together with Sea/Land Launch, it skeams most of the commercial market.

ILS sells mostly Protons and Atlas 5 cannot break through as a commercial vehicle.

Without Boeing, Sea Launch is likely to fold up, so I hope they won't pull the plug too. Else we would be back to Arianespace's pre-ILS monopoly.

For RD-180, the agreement was between LockMart and Energomash (through Roskosmos), so it should not be affected.

 

What is interesting is that eight Atlas V have flown with two Nasa mission in the eight and no EELV launches which would indicate some commercial success. 

What doesn't add up is the desire to form ULA to combine overhead and at the same time to split the marketing group up and loose synergy. 

 

 

 


Offline Jim

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Split which market group?  ILS?   That was only LM and no Boeing

Offline Jim

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ILS caused an extra layer of management.

Offline Dexter

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ILS sell Protons.

ILS sells eight Atlas V commercially.

Perception is that Atlas V cannot break through commercially.  ILS continues to sell Protons.

Lockheed backs ULA.  No more commercial launches sold on Atlas V.  ILS continues to sell protons

Lockheed gives ILS the boot.  ULA is imminent.

If I were guessing, I would say commercial sales of Atlas V are history with ULA.

As if Lockheed or Boeing were concerned about layers of management.

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