The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sent a second request for information to Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co. regarding the formation of the Untied Launch Alliance (ULA) joint venture. The companies said in an Oct. 24 statement that they believe the government needs more time to complete its review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Anti-Trust Act and reiterated their commitment to the transaction and the benefits it could bring to the U.S. government.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin announced May 2 the creation of ULA, a joint venture that would provide the U.S. government a single point of contact to procure Atlas and Delta launch services.

ULA also is facing a court challenge from Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), which is trying to develop a family of low-cost launch vehicles. SpaceX seeks to block the formation of ULA, claiming that the joint venture will violate antitrust laws.