The ban temporarily prohibiting the U.S. government in purchasing Russian rocket engines was lifted Thursday after three U.S. officials testified that the dealings do not infringe the current sanctions imposed against the Russian government.
Judge Susan Braden of U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington issued the injunction last week following Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) protest against U.S. Air Force's alleged plan to purchase billions of dollars' worth of rocket engines from its rival United Launch Alliance (ULA).
A joint venture of aviation giants Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company, ULA is the main provider of space launch services to the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense, National Reconnaissance Office and NASA to name a few.
SpaceX claims that ULA has been buying RD-180 engines from NPO Energomash, Russia's leading developer and manufacturer of liquid propellant, which is wholly owned by Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin.
It said that there is a clear violation of Executive Order (EO) 13,661 issued amid the crisis in Crimea.
The EO, along with EOs 13,660 and 13,663, prohibit any form of transactions that would "operate in the arms or related materiel sector in the Russian Federation" and be "owned or controlled by or have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation or a person whose property [is] blocked pursuant to this order."
"There should be little doubt that the Russian engines at issue come from an entity that operates in the Russian arms or related materiel sector and is controlled by or acts at least indirectly if not directly on behalf of Russian government officials, including Rogozin as an explicitly blocked official," SpaceX said it its bid protest.
However, correspondences by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of State assuring that no such violations were committed was enough to convince Braden to lift the ban. If there be indeed violations, the U.S. official must inform Braden immediately.
In a statement, ULA said the lawsuit filed by competitor SpaceX was "frivolous" and may have escalated the tensions between the US and Russia amid a crucial security crisis.
"SpaceX's actions are self-serving, irresponsible and have threatened the U.S.'s involvement with the International Space Station and other companies and projects working with Russian State entities," it said.
When the ban took effect, even Rogozin retaliated through Twitter, suggesting that U.S. government should instead use a trampoline to fling its astronauts to space.
