- Lockheed Martin (LMT -1.4%) has been eliminated from NASA's pending multibillion-dollar competition to ship cargo to the international space station starting in about three years, WSJ reports.
- The decision would poses a potentially significant setback to LMT’s plans to accelerate development of enhanced space exploration capabilities; LMT had hoped a NASA contract would provide technical steppingstones - as well as a financial boost - for preliminary work on robotic vehicles, reusable space tugs and in-orbit refueling capabilities that ultimately would be needed for missions deep into the solar system.
- NASA is said to have made its decision during this past summer, largely on the basis of price.