Defense Secretary Deborah James said Thursday she’s “kind of working” on getting an eighth Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) mission competed between fiscal years 2015 and 2017, one more than the service previously planned.

The Air Force recently decided to both postpone and reduce the number of “lighter” EELV launches it planned on competing from FY ’15 to ’17 from 14 to seven. The Air Force, citing the health of its Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation, is pushing five next-generation GPS III launch missions past FY ’17 and delaying two other missions. James told the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) of her effort to get that extra launch competed. The Air Force was unable to clarify James’ comments by press time Monday.

ULA's Atlas V rocket is used in Air Force EELV missions. Photo: ULA.
ULA’s Atlas V rocket is used in Air Force EELV missions. Photo: ULA.

James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh again defended their plan to reduce and delay the “lighter” portion of the EELV missions, saying they were not reducing competition, just delaying it. James and Welsh faced another round of criticism from pro-competition lawmakers like Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who want to infuse competition into national security space launch missions as soon as possible to drive down costs.

James told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee (SAC-D) earlier this month the Air Force plans to have competition for all launches by 2017 and it also hopes to have new entrants certified for “lighter” EELV launches by the end of 2014. The GPS satellites are characterized as “lighter” launches and can be launched with Atlas V-level launch vehicles while “heavy” satellites like spy satellites produced by the National Reconnaissance Organization (NRO), require more-capable rockets. ULA last August launched the NRO’s NROL-65 satellite using its Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle (Defense Daily, April 2).

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is leading the drive toward becoming eligible for competing for EELV missions. SpaceX was supposed to launch its Falcon 9 rocket toward the International Space Station (ISS) Monday as part of NASA’s Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) mission, but the launch was scrubbed due to a first stage helium leak just an hour before its scheduled 4:58 p.m. EDT departure. The next opportunity is Friday at 3:25 p.m. EDT, NASA said on Twitter. The CRS-3 mission, when it takes place, could count toward certification if the Air Force deems it meets all criteria for certification.