As far as I know, ULA&#x27;s track record for reliability is much better. Last I read, maybe a few months ago, SpaceX launches had failed 1 in ~19 times, and ULA&#x27;s failed zero in ~85.<p>I wonder how the Air Force addressed this issue. Perhaps the cost of failure is less than the premium for reliability; perhaps they evaluated reliability based on something other than the track records (e.g., an engineering review); and of course it&#x27;s political - McCain, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is reputedly a strong advocate for SpaceX.