Twelve years after it closed, the outlay field still reads zero: $3.58 billion in launch services
A contract of about $3.58 billion in the Defense Contract Management Agency records. It ended on 31 December 2013, yet the outlay field holds zero — which reports the state of the record, not the absence of payment.
Contract key facts
- RecipientUNITED LAUNCH SERVICES, LLC
- Contract value$3,583,485,319 (≈$3.58B)
- BranchDefense-wide
- Awarding agencyDepartment of Defense
- Awarding sub-agencyDefense Contract Management Agency
- Award typeDEFINITIVE CONTRACT
- Period of performance2006-02-28 〜 2013-12-31
- Contract ID (PIID)FA881606C0002
Contract scope (original)
200610!000002!5700!FA8816!SMC/EVK !FA881606C0002 !A!N! !N! ! !20060228!20070930!926784042!834951691!834951691!N!LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION !12257 HIGHWAY 121 !LITTLETON !CO!80125!45255!005!08!LITTLETON !ARAPAHOE !COLORADO !+000335912412!N!N!000815040082!1810!SPACE VEHICLES !A2 !MISSILE AND SPACE SYSTEMS !176 !EELV !336414!E! !3! ! ! ! ! !99990909!B! ! !A! !D!N!R!1!001!N!1G!Z!Y!Z! ! !N!C!N! ! ! !A!A!A!A!000!A!C!Y! ! ! !Y! ! !0001! !
Key points
- Ran from 28 February 2006 to 31 December 2013, obligating about $3.58 billion.
- Twelve years after the end date, the outlay field still holds a zero.
- Of the 103 finished contracts, 59 (57.3%) report no spending, as a blank or a zero.
- The legacy line in the description field shows a product classification of space vehicles.
1What a zero does not mean
In the previous article the outlay field was empty. Here it holds a zero. The two look different on screen, but they carry the same message. Neither one means that nothing was paid.
2How the finished records break down
Sorting the 103 finished contracts by the state of the outlay field gives this:
More than half — 59 records — show no spending history. Counting blanks and zeros separately changes nothing for the reader. The point stands either way: this field will not tell you how much was paid.
3What the description field still carries
Here too the description field keeps a legacy line intact. From it you can read the abbreviation of the office that placed the order, the product classification of space vehicles, and the programme abbreviation EELV. There is no descriptive sentence, but the classification fields do some of that work.
The next article takes up a contract described by the single word TEST, which ran for seventeen years.
Why it matters
Records with a zero or blank outlay field make up the majority of finished contracts. Compare awards using obligated amounts, and treat the outlay field as a value that exists only where the record happens to carry it.
FAQ
If outlays are zero, was the contract never performed?
What is the difference between a blank and a zero?
Can the obligated amount be trusted?
Sources (primary)
This article is an independent organization based on the U.S. official spending data below. Verify the exact, latest details with the official source.
- USAspending (award details)
- Contract ID (PIID)：FA881606C0002