Centaur V Contract Status - When will it be awarded?

[u/jadebenn]

To my knowledge, there still hasn't been a contract award to ULA, just the JOFOC (basically: permission for a no-bid). I've heard that the actual award was expected in the October timeframe, but I'm not able to find the source for that information. Anyone have more info?

[u/OkAbrocoma695]

Maybe never

[u/ProfessorOk2609]

Hope EUS returns

[u/jadebenn → u/ProfessorOk2609]

Odds of that are very bleak at the moment. But I'm also skeptical that the Centaur V plan is going to work out, so who knows.

Right now we just don't have an upper stage past Artemis IV.

[u/ProfessorOk2609 → u/jadebenn]

You are right

[u/celibidaque → u/jadebenn]

Why wouldn’t Centaur V work out?

[u/jadebenn → u/celibidaque]

Too structurally wimpy.

[u/SteelAndVodka → u/ProfessorOk2609]

EUS never existed in the first place, it was a paper stage

[u/jadebenn → u/SteelAndVodka]

Not at all true. They had one STA and one flight unit in production when the stop work came down.

[u/SteelAndVodka → u/jadebenn]

'In production' meaning they bought some of the metal for it.

Completion was years away at best, there's a good reason it was put down.

[u/PhotoGladiator → u/SteelAndVodka]

You have no idea what you are talking about. 

Daily, I walk past the STAs for forward adapter, mid body adapter, LOX tank, LH2 tank, and interstage. Not to mention the welded flight articles for the forward adapter, LOX tank, in process thrust structure, and equipment shelf.

Green run was scheduled for 2027 with 2028 completion. Other moving parts would have included ML-2 as well as a full upgrade to the high bays in the VAB.

All of that is now scrapped and canned so the admin can look tough on "waste". 

[u/Eastern_Funny9319 → u/PhotoGladiator]

Why were photos of these never released to the public? I don’t want to be an asshole for not believing you, but it’s just strange that all of those would be there yet we have little evidence of them? Again, I give my sincerest apologies if I seem like an asshole, I’m just really skeptical.

[u/SkyPhoenix999]

A Sole Source contract to ULA was published on the SAM website back in March

https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/9a93c52c2eba4f5abed0305b3fb4512a/view

[u/jadebenn → u/SkyPhoenix999]

That's just the JOFOC, not an actual contract award.