Lockheed-Boeing joint venture wins $1.17 bln Pentagon contract

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department on Friday awarded United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co a contract valued at $1.17 billion to provide satellite launches using its Delta IV and Atlas V rockets.

The Pentagon said the contract would run through Sept. 30, 2013. The venture provides launch services to send U.S. military and intelligence satellites into space under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

It was not immediately clear how many launches would be covered under the contract.