Both United Launch Alliance and rival SpaceX expect the U.S. Air Force to factor the $1 billion in annual overhead payments that ULA receives from the service into upcoming competitions to launch national security satellites, but how that will be done remains unclear. The issue, one that SpaceX has seen as a major stumbling block to a fair competition, has gotten increased attention from the Air Force since January, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president and chief operating officer, said April 14. In January, the Air Force told SpaceX it did not intend to factor the capability contract into ULA's final price as part of a canceled competition for a National Reconnaissance Office mission.
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