James 'Disappointed' by SpaceX Delay: The secretary of the Air Force is "disappointed" that SpaceX was not certified for military space launch before the end of 2014, but remains confident the company will meet the requirements set forth from the service.
"I'm disappointed that it didn't happen at the end of December, but to me, it is not a question of 'if,' it is a question of 'when' [certification] will happen," Deborah Lee James told an audience at the Atlantic Council Wednesday.
SpaceX is attempting to become the first company to break the monopoly on military space launch held by the United Launch Alliance (ULA), whose Atlas V and Delta IV vehicles provide transport to military satellites under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.
The company is proposing that the service use its Falcon-9 configuration, but hopes to be certified on other configurations in the future.
