Elon Musk and SpaceX started a huge battle Monday by filing a lawsuit against the United States Government to end the "monopoly" of Navy launch contracts. Now the aerospace company has achieved a minor victory by being awarded an injunction against United Launch Alliance, the only company that receives contracts from the federal government.
Part of the suit criticizes ULA for using Russian engines for some of its rockets, and Musk went further by suggesting the arrangement might violate U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims agreed with Musk and prohibited ULA from purchasing engines from Russia.
Now the suit is far from over, but this is a good start for SpaceX. The injunction also marks one of many recent moves meant to (kind of) punish Russia for its actions in Ukraine. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia's defense industry, is named in the U.S. sanctions against the old Cold War enemy. The court ruled that Rogozin would benefit from the ULA's planned purchase of Russian rockets.
We'll let you know what else happens in the case. It's already off to an interesting start.
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[via The Washington Post]
