Lockheed Martin eliminated from competition for space station supply contracts

Louisville-based Sierra Nevada Space Systems has gotten a boost in the competition for $14 billion in NASA contracts to ferry cargo to the international space station.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Lockheed Martin Corp., which bases its Space Systems division in Littleton, has been eliminated from consideration for Commercial Cargo Resupply-2 contracts. The contracts, which could be awarded to multiple companies, are slated to carry out cargo missions to the ISS from 2018 to 2024. Announcement of the awards has been delayed multiple times, and now is expected to come in November.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., and Orbital ATK Inc., have the current cargo delivery contracts for NASA. Those two companies, along with Boeing and Sierra Nevada are are all still in the mix for the next round of contracts.

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Snaring a piece of the commercial cargo contracts would be a major boost for Sierra Nevada, which has its corporate headquarters in Sparks, Nevada. The company missed out last year on NASA’s contracts to carry astronauts to the ISS, a blow that led to layoffs in Louisville.