A US court has blocked a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing from buying Russian-made rocket engines, after private rocket operator SpaceX filed a lawsuit protesting the contract.
The preliminary injunction against the deal between the US Air Force and United Launch Systems was issued late Wednesday by Judge Susan Braden of the US Court of Federal Claims.
The ruling blocks ULS, its parent company United Launch Alliance, and the Air Force from making payments to any entity subject to the control of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
That includes NPO Energomash, the Russian state-owned company that makes the rocket engines that power ULA launches of US government and national security satellites.
Rogozin heads Russia's defense industry and space program, and is on a US sanctions list over the crisis in Ukraine.
